Espaillat Urges Dominican President Luis Abinader to Lower Taxes on Flights and to Remove the $10 Tourist Card charge for Dominicans

NEW YORK, NY- This weekend, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month program recognizing the significant impact of community leaders, non-profits, and elected officials of the Dominican diaspora in the United States with special guest, the Honorable President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader.

During this event, Rep. Espaillat presented President Abinader with a series of proposals aimed at further strengthening the relations between the United States and the Dominican Republic while utilizing the vast resources of the diaspora and the needs of the Dominican population here in the U.S. Amongst the proposals presented, Rep. Espaillat emphasized three items:

1. Salary adjustment of Dominican diplomats. There are big disparities in Dominican Diplomats’ high salary when compared with other countries in Latin American and the Caribbean.
2. Tax Reform in favor of the reduction of high costs on flights to Dominican Republic for Dominicans living abroad.
3. Repeal of Decree 430-17 which includes $10 fee (Tourist Card)

The report consisted of recommendations addressing four main areas of impact: Productivity, Governance, Education and Health. And each recommendation has been backed up with research and empirical evidence.
"The Dominican diaspora, especially here in the United States, represents the largest reserve of the intellectual, economic and socio-political heritage of the Dominican Republic," said Rep. Espaillat. “The communities that live abroad and that in turn identify themselves as a functional and active diaspora, are right between the third and fifth generation, where historically it has been shown that their influences, social, intellectual, economic and political resources they have already reached levels of important projection and incidence, and which, in turn, are complemented by a sincere emotional debt of wanting to be useful to the nation of origin.

"I was honored to host President Abinader and share with him the proposals of interest to Dominican-Americans and throughout the diaspora, and in particular to address the importance of Dominican Remittances and their impact in the country’s economy, the urgent need of a Tax Reform in favor of the reduction of high costs on flights to Dominican Republic and the elimination of the $10 Tourist Card for Dominicans living abroad, as well as a detailed review Consular Services fees.

I am especially grateful to the hundreds of residents from my congressional district, who joined this weekend's event to honor the presence of Dominican-Americans in our community and look forward to continuing my efforts in Congress to highlight the contributions of Dominicans to help strengthen our communities around the nation."

Participants in the event included: the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), Catholic Charities, the Dominican Lawyers Association, the New York Dominican Officials Organization (NYDO), and the Association of Dominican-American Supervisors (ADASA), City University of New York (CUNY), Hostos Community College, local doctors, elected officials from various states of the United States, and representatives of the Dominican Consulate in New York, the Dominican Embassy in Washington, and the Dominican Government.

The document, entitled "First Comprehensive Cooperation and Development Agenda: Dominican-American Diaspora & Government of the Dominican Republic," aims at establishing a bilateral comprehensive agenda to address the concerns and help benefit the lives of Dominican communities in the United States and abroad.
Currently, the Dominican population in the United States exceeds two million people. Watch a replay of the Hispanic Heritage Month event hosted by Rep. Espaillat and honoring the Honorable President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader.

Click here to view the photo gallery of this weekend's event.

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