new law about property tax?

[quaqualita]

Friends told me, that some "officers" who claim to be from the government, go from house to house to tell the property owners, that they have to pay a huge amount for property tax. This obviously happend in the last days at the Northcoast (Sosua - Cabarete area), where this officers claim, that an amount between 50,000 to 80,000 Pesos (depending on the size of the house and land) is due, since there would exist a "new law".

Is this correct??? I own a small piece of land and built a tiny house on it - do I have to expect, that I have to pay so much money for property taxes? And if, yes, do Dominicans also have to pay this? I'm asking, since my daughter is born here (therefore she has Domincan nationality), maybe it would help, if I put the title of the property in her name?

[Fabio J. Guzman]

This is not a new tax. The property or "IVSS" Tax has been in the books since 1988. It is levied on the owners (Dominicans or foreigners) of "sumptuous" homes and unbuilt city lots and it must be paid every year on March 11 and October 11. The law considers "sumptuous" any home or condo worth more than RD$1,400,000 pesos. This figure is adjusted for inflation annually. The tax rate is 0.25% of appraised value for homes and condos and 0.50% for unbuilt lots. Penalties for late payment are steep: 10% of the tax due for the first month and 4% for each subsequent month.