Taxes in the Dominican Republic

The Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (General Directorate of Internal Taxes; DGII) is the institution in charge of the administration and collection of main internal taxes and fees in the Dominican Republic. The  DGII was created under Law 166-97, which joined together with the Direcciones Generales de Rentas Internas and Impuestos Sobre la Renta (General Directorates of Internal Income and Taxes on Income). On July 19, 2006 Law No. 227-06 was enacted which gave functional, proprietary, administrative, and technical autonomy over taxes to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes.  

Official website of DGII: http://www.dgii.gov.do 

Main taxes in the Dominican Republic are:

• Income Taxes (ISR, for its acronym in Spanish), Includes all profits, income, earnings and benefits obtained by individuals, companies and undivided estates for a particular tax period.
• Taxes on Transfers of Industrial Goods and Services (ITBIS, for its acronym in Spanish), that charges the transfer and the importing of industrialized goods and the supply of communication services (telephony, radio, fax), cable and closed circuit television, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, discotheques, cafes, hotels, motels, hotel apartments, florists and hiring service including vehicles and equipment.
• Selective Consumption Tax (ISC), charges the transfer of certain nationally produced goods at the level of manufacture, as well as their importation, in addition to telecommunications services and payments via cheques or electronic transfers.
• Inheritance and Gift Tax, which charges all transfer of property or possessions due to death or as a donation. Within 30 days of the event of death. Extensions are granted for the presentation of the Notarized Declaration for up to 105 days, so that the taxpayer can complete the documentation required for registration.
• Tax on Sumptuary Housing and Urban Land Plots (IVSS, for its acronym in Spanish), applies to dwellings (houses and apartments) and plots of land located in urban areas where no construction has yet taken place, or where construction only occupies 30% of the land.
• Motor Vehicle Taxes: generated through vehicle registration, number plates, transit, modifications to registration due to a change in ownership, color, or due to a request for a duplicate copy of the certificate of ownership (registration).
• Casino Tax: includes the operations of legally established casinos, in correlation with its geographical location and the number of tables in operations. The requirements and regulation regarding the set-up and operation of such establishments are contained in Laws 351 of August 6th 1964 and 24/98 of February 4th 1998.

Timeline (source: DGII)

Although the collection of taxes in the Dominican Republic dates back to colonial times, the existence of the country’s administrative body and collector of internal taxes has its origins in the year 1935, with the creation of an Internal Rents Department, which was under the Secretary of Treasury and Public Credit.   

Among those taxes administered by the Department were: those related to alcohol, patents and cigarettes, among others that were incorporated subsequently. In the year 1949 it established the first Income Tax through Law No. 1927, and from the same law an entity was created that would administrate the tax, the General Directorate of Tax on Rent.   

In December 1950 the Income Tax was substituted for the Benefits Tax, which meant a change in the name of the aforementioned entity to that of the General Directorate on Benefits, officially maintaining that organization in charge of administering taxes beginning 1951.  

In 1958, the General Directorate of Internal Income joined with the General Administration of National Goods through the Decree No. 3877, creating the General Directorate of Internal Income and National Goods.  

In April, 1959, the General Tax Directorate was created through Law No. 5118. This entity was formed through the joining of the General Directorate of Internal Income, the General Directorate of Customs and Ports, the General Directorate of Tax on Benefits and the General Directorate of Personal Identification.   

However, this entity never functioned since on October 10, 1959 Law No. 5234 came into effect, which suspended the implementation of Law 5118, that which had formed the General Tax Directorate. Thus, the laws remained in force which created the aforementioned entities.   

In January 1962, Decree 7601 was issued, which overturned the unification of the General Directorate of Internal Income and the General Directorate of National Goods, and in May of the same year the law which established the Tax on Benefits was repealed and Law No. 5911 was implemented, which established the Tax on Income and created the General Directorate of Tax on Income.  

In 1963, the first General Directorate of Internal Taxes was created, which joined the General Directorates of Taxes on Income and of Internal Income. This institution would remain in force until June 1996, when Law 301 laid out that the General Directorates of Taxes on Income and of Internal Income would function independently, in accordance to their original laws.  

In 1970 the building that would serve as the main headquarters for the General Directorate of Internal Taxes was designed by Architectural Engineer José Amable Frómeta. 

The Independence of the administrative bodies for internal taxes remained in effect until 1997 when the General Directorate of Internal Taxes was created, which was in charge of administration and collection of the Dominican Republic’s main internal taxes and fees.  

On July 19, 2006 Law No. 227-06 was enacted which gave functional, proprietary, administrative, and technical autonomy over taxes to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes.  

Related Links 

Taxpayer: http://www.dgii.gov.do/contribuyentes/Paginas/default.aspx
A taxpater is any physical or legal person who engages in economic or work activities that generate the payment of a tax and who takes on a range of formal duties in accordance with the Tax Code and the norms and resolution of the tax authority. Additionally, taxpayers are those people with real estate subject to the law.

Citizenship: http://www.dgii.gov.do/ciudadania/Paginas/default.aspx
Citizenship is created by the joining of citizens of a people or territory. As part of citizenship, people contribute to the State as indirect taxpayers, for example, through the payment of the Motor Vehicle Tax (Marbete), or the Real Estate Tax (IPI), among others. In this section, one can find information related to the main taxes we contribute as citizens, their requirements and where to make them.

Tax Information: http://www.dgii.gov.do/informacionTributaria/Paginas/default.aspx
In this section, one can find everything about the nature of taxes that the General Directorate of Internal Taxes collects, such as official publications, informative materials and about inquiries for ensuring the timely fulfilment of tax obligations by taxpayers.

Services and Tools: http://www.dgii.gov.do/servicios/Paginas/default.aspx

Tax Legislation: http://www.dgii.gov.do/legislacion/Paginas/default.aspx

Contacts
Address: Av. México #48, Gazcue, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Código Postal 10204
Central Phone:  809-689-2181, 809-331-2181 y desde el interior sin cargos 1-809-200-6160
Complaints hotline: 809-689-0131
Contact Center: 809-689-3444 y desde el interior sin cargos 1-809-200-6060
Information Kiosk: John F. Kennedy Esq. Bienvenido G. Gautier. Centro Comercial Galeria 360

Did you know? Upon formalizing your business, you will be able to gain access to new markets, financial and business opportunities as you had never imagined. The DGII introduced a new formalization system for businesses, which is very fast and easy to use. Through Formalízate you will gain access to a simplified process of business formalization. Formalízate brings together the main institutions for the process of business formalization on one platform. http://www.formalizate.gob.do