In view of the possibility that the government may draft a tax reform proposal, the hotel sector expects that the current tax conditions that encourage private hotel investment will be maintained.
For the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), David Llibre, the current incentive scheme has been part of the “formula” that has stimulated the arrival of visitors and has allowed the country to project more than 11 million visitors by the end of 2024.
He stated that the hotel sector is “very much in expectation” of a comprehensive tax reform, which contemplates a review of both income and expenses, and explained that the sector is still waiting for the project to be made known to the public in order to give its opinion on the matter.
“Now, at a general level, the sector needs that structure that today has allowed growth”, he emphasized.
In addition, the executive indicated that the country must continue to develop new hotel rooms, update existing facilities and strengthen complementary policies, according to Diario Libre.
“It is the main reason, not the only one, not to give up the conditions created to the point where we are, and understand the need to maintain the current fiscal structure, and not introduce changes that extinguish the light projected by our sector, and maintain tourism as an engine of the Dominican economy,” he stressed.
Llibre supported his approach in that, when the indirect and induced impacts are added, Dominican tourism contributes up to 19% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
He assured that the industry also contributed more than 5.9 billion dollars to the Dominican economy only in purchases from other sectors (4.95% of the GDP) such as electricity, manufacturing and construction.
“Every 100 pesos generated in value added directly for the sector produced an additional 188 pesos directly and induced,” he highlighted.
Source:Arecoa.com