ASONAHORES, asserted that tax revenue collected by the government has nearly 10% of its contributions from the sphere of tourism. The organization highlighted that the tax contributions from this sector hit a record high of more than RD$155. billion in 2022.
This data was made available during the kickoff of the XXXVI Commercial Exhibition, a major commerce platform for suppliers and firms in the tourism domain. The event, taking place at BlueMall Puntacana until October 11, saw its opening ceremony graced by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, and the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, who were accompanied by the business group of ASONAHORES.
David Llibre, ASONAHORES’s president, highlighted that each peso that the government exempted from tourism taxes resulted in the sector generating a twelve-fold return, thereby interconnecting various sectors of the economy and leading to an increase in purchases that amount to 139 billion pesos.
Llibre elaborated, “In all purchases made by the tourism industry involving recorded goods and services, ITBIS has been paid. Hence, we propose the upgrading of the existing fiscal structure in the sector, however its removal is not endorsed. This would then facilitate the influx of tourism sector investments to elevate industry growth and perpetuate the fiscal contributions.”
Additionally, he stated that the Dominican Republic’s tourism industry has successfully attracted a substantial volume of foreign direct investments, contributing roughly three-tenths of the total dollar earnings in foreign exchange to the Dominican economy, which made it a key player in maintaining the exchange stability of the country.
According to ASONAHORES, in order to boost the entry of an additional two million tourists into the country, it will necessitate an equivalent of 5,000 million dollars in foreign investment as per the existing legislation.
Llibre concluded by saying “We expect the incentives provided by CONFOTUR to be focused on projects that assure a minimum number of direct jobs per room, improvements in the working conditions for direct staff, commitment towards using renewable energy, a recycled water plan for irrigation, solid waste retrieval, long-term investments for plant refurbishment and a dedication to social accountability for all community stakeholders.”