‘Nonsense’ tax protests halt a 3rd Dominican Republic region

Barahona, Dominican Repubilc.- Stores and other businesses in the city and other towns of the south-western Enriquillo Region are taking part in a protest which started 6am Friday against the mandatory installation of tax-payment printers and the increase of the ITBIS tax.

The protest is the third in as many weeks, with San Francisco (northeast) and Navarrete (northwest) staging similar measures, headed by the Dominican Retailers Federation in the country’s various regions.

Shops, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, bakeries, cafes, among other businesses were asked to shutter their doors to demand more time to install the printers required by the Taxes Agency (DGII). They complain that the action harms them and leads to bankruptcy.

Since early Wednesday Barahona’s Merchants and Business Association, through flyers and calls to local radio programs urged their colleagues to join the shutdown.

Most of the city’s main commercial arteriesseemed deserted with few shoppers, who said they agree with the merchant’s protest, which in addition to Barahona also affected the Enriquillo Region’s towns in Bahoruco, Independencia and Pedernales provinces.

On Monday DGII director Guarocuya Felix called the walkouts “illogical and nonsense.”