Mexico City - In the August 11th Citizens’ Dialogue, President Calderón listened to and responded to the concerns of persons of different regions and social and economic profiles in a democratic exercise designed to secure everyone’s participation in the construction of a better Mexico.

The event attracted 100 participants from the following states: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Coahuila, Federal District, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.

During the meeting, citizens asked the president about issues such as health, safety and transparency. Attending the meeting was Puerto Vallarta's Canaco Servytur (National Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Services) President, Carlos Gerard, who asked President Calderon to reduce the sales tax (IVA) from 16% to 11% in Puerto Vallarta.

Most all cities in Mexico have a 16% sales tax rate, but some tourist destinations, such as Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, enjoy a 5% tax break as an incentive for private investors.

According to a report by Medios UDG Noticias' Brenda Montiel, Sr. Gerard pointed out that Puerto Vallarta is the second most important tourist destination in Mexico, just after Cancun, and followed by Cabo San Lucas, but it’s the only one of the three with a 16% sales tax.

With more than 800 million dollars of direct private investment over the last four years, Puerto Vallarta is the national leader in collecting taxes, yet it is not considered as a candidate for the fiscal benefits that the 5% tax break would contribute to the city's economical growth.

If reducing the IVA to 11% is a measure made with investors in mind, shouldn't Puerto Vallarta be considered as a candidate for the tax break that our competing destinations enjoy? Fair competition is all that Sr. Gerard is asking for, and hopefully, President Calderon will agree.