Amendment filed to extend IVU exemption for school supplies

Rep. Joe Colón Rodríguez (Facebook via Joe “Joito” Colón)

By The Star Staff

In direct response to the concerns of families in House of Representatives District 22 and after numerous conversations with his constituents, Rep. Joe “Joito” Colón Rodríguez announced Monday that he will be submitting an amendment to Section 4030.20(b) of the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code, with the purpose of extending the dates of the sales and use tax (IVU by its acronym in Spanish) exemption on the purchase of school supplies.

Currently, the IVU exemption only applies to two weekends a year, which is insufficient given the high cost of school supplies, the lawmaker noted.

“Expenses per student can be around $1,000, depending on age, grade, and courses,” Colón Rodríguez said. “For a family with three or four children, this expense can exceed $4,000. Many parents simply don’t have that amount available on a single weekend.”

“I’ve listened to my constituents both during our visits around the district and through phone calls,” the lawmaker added. “The cost of living increases every day, and in our economically unstable mountainous region, we must provide peace of mind to the parents and guardians of our students.”

Amending the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code is “doing them justice,” Colón Rodríguez said.

“We want the zero IVU on school supplies to be not limited to two weekends, but to have more dates available throughout the year,” he said.