Our founding partner writes a tax policy column in Diario Financiero. Twenty-one to date, since May 2024.
They are not date reminders or press summaries. They are positions on how the Dominican tax system ought to be designed, argued with data and published under his name. The columns were written for the Dominican tax debate and published in Spanish; the full texts are in Spanish. Each summary below is in English.
Twenty-one columns.
From May 2024 to August 2026. One every six weeks on average. Published in Diario Financiero and reproduced here with attribution.
Do not let the simplified regime die
Decree 265-19, by requiring 100% VAT withholding, makes the simplified regime more expensive than the ordinary one and explains its low take-up. The pending regulation can fix it.
Read in Spanish16 Jun 2026A tale of two taxpayers
The design of the subsidy system creates a poverty trap: an informal beneficiary ends up with more disposable income than a formally employed professional.
Read in Spanish26 May 2026Taxing digital platforms without hitting the consumer
Taxing foreign digital platforms requires an act of Congress and a hybrid collection model with bank withholding — for competitive neutrality before revenue.
Read in Spanish20 Apr 2026Charging for solid waste without breaking anyone
Replacing the single levy of Law 98-25 with five collection channels —packaging, vehicles, tourism, invoicing and construction— covers the need without concentrating the burden.
Read in Spanish23 Mar 2026Removing the cost of tax uncertainty
The absence of public, consistent criteria in applying tax rules works as an invisible tax: it raises costs and holds back formalisation.
Read in Spanish28 Jan 2026The solid waste levy
The increase of between 260% and 600% introduced by Law 98-25 has no technical basis: it equates revenue with ability to pay and with waste generated.
Read in Spanish4 Dec 2025The IMF confirms the VAT efficiency gap
The IMF report of July 2025 confirms a VAT compliance gap of close to three points of GDP, attributable to assessment, collection and the complexity of the rules.
Read in Spanish26 Oct 2025The quality of public spending on education
After a decade at 4% of GDP, education spending is concentrated in payroll and non-essential items with no improvement in outcomes. It needs independent evaluation.
Read in Spanish29 Sep 2025Reforming the Dominican trust
Law 189-11 confined the trust to real estate. Reforming it towards investment, philanthropic and educational structures would widen capital formation.
Read in Spanish8 Sep 2025The gap between the policy rate and bank rates
The 9.02-point gap between the policy rate and lending rates reflects incomplete monetary transmission and structural rigidities that constrain credit and private investment.
Read in Spanish20 Aug 2025From tax rhetoric to the quality of public spending
The Dominican fiscal problem lies in the quality of spending, not its level. The piece proposes results-based budgeting and an independent evaluation body.
Read in Spanish28 Jul 2025A capital gains exemption on family homes
The United States experience with section 121 supports introducing a partial, indexed exemption on the sale of a principal residence into the Dominican Tax Code.
Read in Spanish30 Jun 2025One sale, two withholdings
Card withholding and professional services withholding applying at once creates control inconsistencies with no underlying evasion. It is fixed by regulation, not by reform.
Read in Spanish2 Jun 2025What now for the property tax?
Exempting the gain on a principal residence would raise the declaration of real values, and replacing the property tax exemption with an income tax credit would widen compliance.
Read in Spanish21 May 2025The hidden inequity in capital gains on family homes
Taxing the gain on the sale of a family home at up to 25%, with no exemption at all, departs from comparative practice and catches non-speculative transactions.
Read in Spanish2 May 2025Accounting and taxation: the case for integrating them
Dominican companies treat bookkeeping as a step towards filing rather than as management support, which produces adjustments in Schedule G and avoidable contingencies.
Read in Spanish3 Feb 2025Personal taxation: towards a filing model with incentives
Broadening the individual tax base requires structured deductions and tax credits, rather than punitive measures that encourage evasion and informality.
Read in Spanish11 Oct 2024Tax modernisation, or a blow to the middle class?
The proposal amounts to an amendment of the Tax Code rather than a modernisation: it leaves Title I untouched and shifts the burden onto the middle class without offsets.
Read in Spanish6 Aug 2024How efficient is the Dominican VAT?
The consumption efficiency of the Dominican VAT sits well below its potential. The gap is attributed to the complexity of the withholding and exemption regime.
Read in Spanish20 Jun 2024The case for comprehensive tax reform
Tax reform should start from the structure of the Dominican economy and cover revenue, spending and financing, rather than copying foreign models aimed only at collection.
Read in Spanish29 May 2024Why tax compliance matters for smaller companies
For smaller companies tax compliance is a condition of access to financing, to public tenders and to market credibility — not an administrative cost.
Read in Spanish