Santo Domingo.- Harvard economist and academic Juan Ariel Jiménez mentioned the importance of restoring fiscal legitimacy in the Dominican Republic, involving citizens more in budget decisions.
Jiménez pointed out that a strategy to increase citizens’ trust in the tax system is to offer higher quality services and structures in return.
The former Minister of Economy suggested, in a talk in Moca on “The challenges of the Dominican economy in the short, medium, and long term,” that a portion of the taxes collected in each province should be allocated to a trust for provincial infrastructure development.
“Each trust would have a provincial council, and a portion of tax revenues would be invested in the construction of necessary infrastructure for the community, such as roads, dams, and bridges,” he mentioned while speaking at Coopcredia.
In addition, he proposed that a portion of corporate income tax be channeled into a trust for sectoral infrastructure development.
The professor noted that this would increase citizen participation in budgetary decision-making.
He used the example of Bogotá, Colombia, where during the term of Mayor Antanas Mockus, legitimacy was successfully granted to the tax system and the city underwent a fiscal culture change. This was thanks to the perception of a direct relationship between taxes paid and the improvement of public services, thus fostering a sense of co-responsibility in financing development.
“We must involve citizens more in budgetary decisions. This is a way to ensure that taxpayers’ voices are heard regarding the use of their own taxes,” he emphasized.
image credits for this post: Deultimominuto.net
