Dominican Hoteliers Eye Proposed New Tax as Harsh Blow

The National Hoteliers and Restaurant Owners Association (Asonahores) cautioned that approval of the new tax reform presented to the nation by President Leonel Fernandez would hit the sector hard, costs would surge and competitiveness in international markets would suffer.

Asonahores branded as absurd and irrational the measure that would create a 5 percent exclusive tax for this sector, which is considered the main productive activity that motorizes the economy.

A press release issued by the entity’s executive committee recalls that this tax had existed before and that it was substituted in 1998 following an agreement reached with the State, whereby the Processed Goods and Services ITBIS tax would apply over the all-inclusive packages.

The document goes on to affirm that the sector cannot assume further tax burdens and that imposing these would endanger the sector’s stability and would gravely harm its capacity to compete.

Last week, representatives from the hotelier sector met for over five hours, discussion the impact of a possible increase of tax charges on this national productive activity.