SANTO DOMINGO – Dominican Senator Omar Fernández has issued a compelling appeal to the national government, demanding it assume a greater share of the economic strain triggered by escalating global instability linked to the Middle East conflict. He emphasized that ordinary citizens should not be left to shoulder the overwhelming financial consequences alone, particularly as new measures impacting essential goods and services are implemented.
In a detailed critique of current fiscal policy, Fernández questioned whether state institutions were demonstrating commensurate sacrifice. He advocated for the immediate adoption of countercyclical economic strategies designed to shield household incomes, citing the prolonged financial distress faced by Dominicans since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The senator put forward a multi-faceted proposal to alleviate public hardship. Key recommendations include indexing income tax brackets to inflation to prevent bracket creep and reduce the fiscal pressure on salaried workers, providing tax relief on mortgage loans, and eliminating advance tax payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their cash flow.
Furthermore, Fernández proposed a strategic reduction of the electricity sector’s deficit to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. He argued that the substantial savings realized from this measure could be reallocated to finance critical subsidies for fuel, basic food items, and agricultural fertilizers, alongside necessary public sector salary adjustments.
In a move highlighting fiscal responsibility, the senator also suggested repurposing a portion of the social assistance funds allocated to legislators to support these subsidy initiatives. Fernández concluded that such decisive and shared actions are imperative to fortify public confidence and underscore the government’s institutional accountability during a period of economic difficulty.