The president’s administrative minister, José Ignacio Paliza, said last night that the government of President Luis Abinader is committed to approving a comprehensive tax reform that improves revenues and makes the Dominican economy more competitive.
In his view, the next reform cannot be a patchwork, but a discussion from which a country-type reform took place in 1992, which laid the foundations for economic growth in the following years. .
Paliza stressed that the government itself will show the seriousness of this reform with a substantial improvement in public spending, because, in his opinion, “it cannot ask a society to give more if the government does not show that it uses efficiently the resources it receives.”
Interviewed on Color Vision’s “McKinney” television program, the presidency’s administration minister said the government was determined to cut unnecessary spending and “keep corruption to a minimum.”
Regarding the timing of the tax reform to be approved, Paliza said the discussion should start as soon as possible so that the change in revenue is available for the 2022 budget.
When asked about the relationship with the business community, the official said that it is very good because both the government and the business people are in favor of job creation and this is an essential policy of Abinader.
The beginnings of government
When assessing the first five months of President Abinader’s term, Paliza said that when they came to power they found a government lacking supplies to fight Covid, with few resources, with hospitals involved in reconstruction and inaccurate statistics on pandemic behavior.
He said that under these conditions, the government had to make a superhuman effort to tackle coronavirus and reduce contagion and lethality, although he acknowledged that the number of cases has increased recently due to the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Paliza said the government has better protocols and supplies to fight Covid and hopes that the first vaccines to immunize health care workers and the elderly will arrive in January, with a view to vaccinating the entire Dominican population soon. .
Campaign promises
When analyzing the fulfillment of the promises of Abinader’s campaign, the official said that the government responds well, which, in his opinion, is verified by the appointment of an independent lawyer, with the delivery in December last year of health insurance to two million more people. increasing police salaries.
It is also a promised promise to increase the amount of the Solidarity card, which will already be 1,600 pesos, as well as the ban on child marriage, among other public policies.
“We tried to keep all the promises so that they could be measured and people knew how much we were fulfilling,” Paliza said.
Regarding the removal of the barrel that senators receive, the president of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) also indicated that “these funds must be honest and transparent to eliminate this distortion.”
He considered that maintaining a senatorial office in each province, which is now paid with a barrel, is useful, but that the population should know.
Instead, Paliza said that it is not fair for legislators to provide social assistance because that is what government ministries are for and that it “distorts the use of these funds.”