Bill seeks to exempt cancer patients from taxes during treatment

By THE STAR STAFF

District 13 (Manatí, Florida, Barceloneta and Arecibo) Rep. Jerry Nieves Rosario and District 26 (Barranquitas, Coamo, Corozal, Orocovis and Villalba) Rep. Luis “Josean” Jiménez Torres have formally filed House Bill 1417, which seeks to exempt patients undergoing active cancer treatment.

The bill seeks to amend Act 1-2011 (“Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico”) “for the purpose of exempting, from the income tax and up to the first $150,000 of gross income, of each (the patient and his or her spouse), the income earned by any individual resident of Puerto Rico during any taxable year in which they receive active cancer treatment and that of their spouse, when they file a joint return.”

“Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Puerto Rico and one of the most devastating experiences a family can go through,” Nieves Rosario said in a written statement. “According to the most recent data from the Central Cancer Registry of Puerto Rico, … in 2022 more than 16,500 new cases of cancer were diagnosed on the island and 5,392 people died from this disease. ... It is estimated that about four out of every 10 residents of Puerto Rico will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lives.”

Among men, prostate cancer accounts for about 40% of new cases, while for women, breast cancer accounts for 30%.

“A cancer diagnosis is not only a health crisis, it is almost always an economic crisis,” Jiménez Torres noted. “Active treatment -- chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, oncological surgery , or bone marrow transplant -- extends over months, produces debilitating side effects, and requires ongoing appointments at centers that are often far from the patient’s home or even outside of Puerto Rico. ... During this period, the patient’s ability to work is reduced or eliminated, and the spouse who accompanies and cares for him is also absent from his job.”

The $150,000 limit will be computed separately for each spouse, whether or not they elect the optional computation provided for in Section 1021.03. The exemption will not apply to the spouse’s income when the couple files separate returns.