DR1 - CONEP hardens stance (yesterday news)

The business sector is starting to play hard ball in their stance on the new tax reform proposals and the changes that they will demand from the economy in order to maintain a competitive position in the marketplace. During a Business Luncheon held in Santiago de los Caballeros, the directors of the National Business Council (CONEP) and the leading industrial association of Santiago and the northern region called for a series of immediate steps to be taken to stem the electricity problem that goes beyond the bounds of any sort of payment schedule. They also condemned the fact that there are a series of hidden taxes that are never talked about but that are changed by the administration from time to time. They cited, as an example, the two different electricity rates, one for the government and one for the private sector, which is 30% more expensive. En mass, the industrialists called for the immediate app! lication of the entire Electricity Law.
The group pointed out that given the recent statement by CDEEE officials to the effect that there is an excess of installed generation capacity, the government should be extra careful in that the new generation units are contracted for through a public tender as called for by the law. As reported in Diario Libre, CONEP representatives are concerned about the announcement that the government has entered into an agreement with a private company to build two 600 megawatt coal-fueled generators, but until now has not provided details on the plants nor the contract. The business sector asked for transparency, in order to avoid the signing of onerous contracts as has occurred in the past.
In a document prepared by CONEP, the business group says that the efficiency and success of taxation policies will depend on the efficiency, honesty and transparency of government spending. The businessmen said that taxes discourage investment, red! uce productiveness and affect real wages. The business group complains that when the state makes proposals for tax reform, a matter such as it becoming more efficient in the use of taxpayer monies is not considered. The business group mentioned that there are many autonomous government institutions that do not have to account for the funds they receive.
During the meeting in Santiago, just the first of a series of meeting that the CONEP will hold with business and industrial leaders around the country, Elena Viyella de Paliza, and Ricardo Fondeur, the head of Santiago's Chamber of Commerce and Production, were joined at the head table by Mauricio Hache, William Robert Calderon and Carlos Manuel Alvarez.
Conep's proposal is to create a 10-year program for the government to implement and that will provide all of the citizens a chance to get ahead.