Companies get incentives via blackmail, favouritism: Taveras

Santo Domingo.- Herrera and Santo Domingo Province Industries Association (AEIH), president Antonio Taveras, affirmed Fri. that historically incentives have been granted to companies, “as the result of blackmail or political favouritism,” a practice he affirms harms another sector’s market competitiveness.

The business leader said it’s understood and accepted that the government feels it has to go to help develop certain companies, but stressed that those incentives should always be conditioned in time and to the setting of goals.

“Here, many of the incentives that companies have, have no reason to be, incentives always occur when they have a vision of development.”

He said the AEIH favors only the incentives where it’s determined necessary to promote a specific sector and that that sector is tied in time and fulfilment of goals, “and that if the time has elapsed it will be removed, if it doesn’t meet the goal it will be remove. The incentives should not give rein to unequal competition in companies.”

Taveras said the incentives have to be part of a tax reform that, he says has been needed “some time ago,” but notes that the Government has neither understood the need to produce, nor has complied with the Law on the National Development Strategy . “Here we’ve been seeing the great need to produce this tax reform; we’re a year away from that.”

Labour code

Another aspect which the outspoken Taveras noted regarding the companies’ competitiveness is the Labor Code which, he notes dates to 1990. He agrees on the need for change, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the workers’ acquired rights.