Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic housing buildersand developers association (Acoprovi) president Hector Breton on Monday joinedthe call for the government to scrap the planned 50% ITEBI tax (VAT) on rawmaterials, industrial machinery and capital gains.
"If this levy is enacted the liquidityof the industry will be affected, which directly impacts the cost of manyindustrial materials used for the construction of works and housing," Bretonsaid
He noted that president Danilo Medina declared2016 ‘Year of Housing.’ "He has a great vision on the importance of thissector, so he should continue to encourage housing construction and not makedecisions that affect the goal of reducing the housing deficit."
Medina recently submitted to Congress thebill for the 2017 Budget, which amends Law 392-07 on Industrial Innovation,which creates the regulator Proindustria, and instructs Customs to charge a 50%Tax ITBIS in advance.
A bicameral committee hears and evaluates therequest by several major business sectors, which complain that the measure willreduce the capital that should be set aside for production.