Restaurant owners foresee cost increases with tax reform

The Dominican Restaurant Association (Aderes) highlighted that the tax reform bill presented by the Government would increase input costs, which will directly impact the cost structure of its operations. In addition, Dominicans will see their purchasing power limited. They will reduce their visits to restaurants, which for many is their routine for lunch from Monday to Friday for work, not a luxury.

He criticized the reform for bringing changes that will affect the middle class, which is already overburdened and whose purchasing capacity affects their daily lives.

The president of Aderes, Rafael Omar Cepeda, explained that this, along with other measures such as the increase in the cost of electricity, salary increase, and increase of the Real Estate Patrimony Tax (IPI) proposed in the reform, will affect rents and suppliers, causing them to increase the price of the products they supply.

“The proposed reform will impact the performance of the industry and puts at risk the sustainability of many restaurants,” he said.

Rafael Omar Cepeda.

In addition, Cepeda warned that the elimination of the tourism incentive law, as proposed, will negatively impact the entire complementary offer, of which restaurants are a part. This hinders the important effort being made by the sector to develop Gastronomic Tourism, which is already registering its first successes and is in full growth.

He expressed that the sector and the National Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores) have been doing a great job positioning the Dominican Republic as a gastronomic destination. However, the “work to be done” is still going in that direction.

Cepeda explained that Dominican restaurants promote the processing and use of Dominican products to encourage national agriculture.

“The way the reform is proposed, the consumer is going to feel it. If you now have to pay more for fruit, you have to pay more for electricity, you have to pay more for IPI, you have to pay more for everything, then you are going to limit your purchases because you will not have the capacity perhaps to frequent restaurants as you currently do,” he said.