The text, open for comments until November 11, does not mention hotels, Confotur or tourism, and details how the prohibition on accumulating incentives and payments abroad for royalties, technical assistance and software will be applied, nor does it mention short-term rentals
SANTO DOMINGO. – The draft regulations for the application of Law 30-26 contain a single provision expressly dedicated to a tourism issue: Article 39 exempts transit passengers who do not formally enter the country and continue their journey to a third destination within 24 hours of their arrival from the departure tax.
The 40-article draft , none of which mentions hotels, tourism, Confotur, or the tiresome ones, is available for download and comments on the Legal Consulting portal of the Executive Branch until November 11.
Article 60 of Law 30-26, enacted on June 18, 2026, set the fee or contribution payable by any person leaving the country through any authorized point of entry at US$30, or its equivalent in pesos at the market exchange rate determined by the Central Bank. Law 2-04 had set it at US$20.
The law designates individuals or legal entities that transport passengers abroad as collection agents and assigns the administration of the tax to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII). Article 62 stipulates that the law enters into force upon its promulgation and publication, in accordance with the Constitution and the timeframes established in the Civil Code.
Article 39 of the bill conditions the exemption for transit passengers on three elements: that they remain in transit through the national territory, that they do not formally enter the country through immigration controls, and that they continue their journey to a third destination within 24 hours of their arrival, as established by Law 285-04, the General Migration Law, and the lower-ranking regulations that implement it. The text does not specify the procedure by which the carrier verifies this condition.
Article 40 entrusts the Tax Administration with issuing general rules on procedures, forms, means of payment and other operational aspects.
Prohibition on accumulating incentives
Article 1 of the law introduced Article 2-1 of the Tax Code, according to which taxpayers may choose the regime they deem most convenient, but may not simultaneously benefit from more than one incentive regime with respect to the same economic activity, investment or operation.
Neither Law 158-01, which entrusts its application to the Tourism Development Council (Confotur), nor Confotur itself are mentioned in Law 30-26 or in the project.
Article 1 of the project reformulates the rule with two terms that the law does not contain: it refers to the same generating event and to more than one special tax incentive regime.
Paragraph I specifies that the taxpayer retains the tax credits, deductions and other general or specific benefits provided for in the legislation, provided that they do not constitute a second special regime with respect to the same activity, investment or operation.
Paragraph II allows for different regimes when dealing with different activities, investments or operations, provided that separate accounting is kept that individually identifies income, costs, expenses, assets, liabilities and other operations of each one, and that the other requirements of the applicable legislation are met.
The project does not define what is meant by a special incentive regime nor does it list what those regimes are.
Article 7 of the project develops Article 45 of Law 253-12, which Article 9 of Law 30-26 modified to require institutions that administer laws with exemptions to submit a feasibility study and a cost-benefit analysis to the Ministry of Finance and Economy before considering the classification request.
The bill stipulates that the Ministry of Finance may request the Executive Branch to object to an applicant's classification as a beneficiary of incentives, based on a technical report that conclusively demonstrates one of the following situations: that the investment does not align with the objectives of the incentive law, that the amount of tax expenditures exceeds the social benefit, that it generates distorting effects in the sector, that the project is financially viable without incentives, or that no indirect or induced effects on the economy are evident. The text does not specify which incentive laws this applies to.
The hotel ITBIS
Article 35 of the law stipulated that, for all-inclusive hotel companies, the values determined in accordance with subparagraph a) of paragraph V of Article 281 bis of the Tax Code would serve as the basis for determining the ITBIS (Value Added Tax) in the corresponding transactions. None of the 40 articles of the bill addresses this provision.
Nor does it elaborate on the regulations governing casinos and slot machines, which the law modified. Article 27 establishes a monthly tax of RD$70,000 per gaming table for casinos with 1 to 15 tables, RD$80,000 for each additional table between 16 and 35, and RD$100,000 for each table beyond 36.
Article 30 establishes RD$18,000 per month for slot machines in Santo Domingo and Santiago, and RD$15,000 in the rest of the country.
Both amounts are indexed annually to 100% of the consumer price index, and the machine reward plan cannot be less than 85% return to the public.
Article 31 eliminates the exemption for the importation of slot machines, their parts, pieces and accessory equipment, and Article 17 sets the withholding tax on the prizes of those machines at 15%.
Rentals and withholdings on services
Article 17 of the law set at 15% the withholding on payments made for the rental of any type of movable and immovable property provided by individuals, as a single and final payment.
Article 16 of the draft limits withholding to cases where the lessee is a legal entity and the property belongs directly to a natural person, and excludes it when the lessee is a natural person or the owner is a legal entity.
It requires the lessor to support its operations with tax receipts and empowers the Tax Administration to adjust transactions between related parties that lack economic substance.
The text of the draft regulation makes no reference to short-term rentals.
Article 14 modifies Article 70 of Regulation 139-98 and establishes an effective withholding of 3%, on a presumed net income of 20% of the gross value paid, for contracted freight or passenger transport services, non-personal services (fumigation, cleaning, electrical or mechanical repairs, masonry, carpentry, painting, joinery and plumbing) and payments to contractors, engineers and master builders for buildings and civil works.
International payments and technical support
The law established that payments of taxable income from Dominican sources to non-residents are taxed by withholding, as a single and final payment, at the rate of article 297, which is 27% (article 20), and set at 15% of the gross value the withholding on royalties or rights (article 21) and on software licenses, online advertising services and the right to use or store data (article 22).
Furthermore, it considered income from technical assistance used in the country to be of Dominican source, even if the activity is carried out abroad (Article 18).
The project defines technical assistance in its article 9 as any independent service, provided in the country or from abroad, that provides specialized knowledge, experience or capabilities to support the management, operation, development or improvement of an organization, project or economic activity, and includes the necessary training.
Services that do not qualify as such include administrative, technical or management services that consist of performing a specific task defined by the client, without knowledge transfer; travel and per diem reimbursed against substantiated expenses; and standardized digital services with mass access, such as content platforms, digital advertising and electronic markets.
Paragraph II clarifies that this exclusion does not in itself determine the tax treatment, and paragraph III orders that the amounts be discriminated when the technical assistance coincides with other services or income, or that the treatment of the essential and predominant part be applied if this is not possible.
According to Article 17, a technical assistance service is considered to be used in the country when any of these conditions are met: that it has application, use or economic effects in the territory, that the beneficiary is resident or domiciled, or that the payment constitutes a deductible expense for the beneficiary.
Article 20 defines royalties as payments for the use of patentable intangible assets, such as trademarks, designs, models, copyrights, plans, secret formulas or processes, and for the use of industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, provided that ownership is not transferred.
Articles 21 and 22 distinguish between software licensing and acquisition, and presume licensing in periodic payments, subscriptions, or usage fees, unless proven otherwise. The draft does not define the concept of online advertising services.
Article 19 of the project applies the transitional withholding rate of 30%, for the fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028, to those who pay or credit to non-residents taxable income from Dominican sources of RD$1,000 million or more.
Paragraph II of Article 297, as drafted by Article 15 of the law, establishes a 30% tax on the taxable income of taxpayers with income exceeding that amount. The bill does not elaborate on how this tax applies to taxpayers.
Accelerated depreciation
Article 24 of the law allows legal entities to depreciate machinery and equipment at double the ordinary percentages, provided that they are classified in chapters 84 and 85 of the Customs Tariff, are new, have a useful life of at least five years, are intended for industrial use and are not parts or components.
Article 25 of the draft considers as industrial use the good used directly, habitually and necessarily in a production process, transformation, generation of goods or services, or provision of technical or specialized services specific to the taxpayer's activity, regardless of whether it is classified as an industrial, commercial or service company, and excludes goods for personal, general administrative or luxury use.
Paragraph I lists, among others, commercial companies, health service providers, agro-industrial companies, owners or administrators of shopping centers and mixed-use or commercial complexes, and electric power companies.
The list does not include hotels or tourist establishments. Article 26 incorporates the instruments and apparatus of Chapter 90 of the Tariff under two alternative conditions, and Article 27 lists the documents that the taxpayer must keep.
Advances
Starting with the 2027 tax year, medium and large companies with an effective tax rate equal to or less than 1.5% pay monthly advances equivalent to one-twelfth of 1.5% of their gross income from the previous year, according to Article 23 of the law, which allows those who demonstrate a drop in income of more than 30% to request total or partial exemption.
Article 24 of the bill empowers the DGII to authorize the total or partial reduction of advance payments when the taxpayer demonstrates a cause of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, justified and verifiable, that substantially affect their ability to pay.
Comments on the project are being accepted on the Legal Consulting portal until November 11.
