Bill would establish 90 days for payment of CRIM debts
By THE STAR STAFF
Arecibo District Sen. Brenda Pérez Soto has filed Senate Bill (SB) 1497, which proposes to establish a special period of 90 days for taxpayers with debts on movable and immovable property with the Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in Spanish) can pay the principal owed and receive a waiver of accumulated interest, surcharges and penalties.
Puerto Rico has previously used such a mechanism. In December 2013 Law 145-2013 was approved, which established an amnesty for the payment of taxes owed on movable and immovable property. According to data discussed later in the Senate, that program reached some $156 million in collections, of which roughly $83 million corresponded to full debt payments and $73 million to payment agreements.
SB 1497 seeks to re-establish a temporary mechanism to facilitate payment of overdue obligations and, in turn, allow the CRIM to recover outstanding collections that correspond to the island’s municipalities. The measure’s preamble recognizes that property taxes constitute one of the main sources of municipal revenue and help sustain services.
If the bill becomes law, during the aforementioned 90-day period, eligible taxpayers who join the program and who pay the full principal amount of the debt would be relieved of the payment of interest, surcharges and penalties accumulated on that amount.
The measure also includes taxpayers who currently have payment plans with the CRIM and who could be eligible regarding the outstanding balance of the principal.
Likewise, people with administrative or judicial proceedings related to an eligible debt holder could participate, subject to the conditions set out in the bill.
“In my office I receive people with very serious debt situations that they have at the CRIM and, due to the surcharges and interest, it becomes complicated for them to be able to pay them,” Pérez Soto said. “We also receive many calls with similar cases. A citizen brought this concern to our attention and presented us with similar cases of people who feel pressured by the possibility of losing their properties, since the debts acquired exceed their actual means to be able to fulfill them.”
“If we want to help our people, we have to be sensitive,” the senator added. “We have elderly people with extremely high debts who cannot sleep peacefully, fearing they might lose their home. We have joined this citizen to present Senate Bill 1497, which we believe seeks to address this situation that affects citizens of our island.”
The bill further stipulates that, if it becomes law, the CRIM must issue within a maximum term of 30 days the administrative order necessary to implement the program.
Comments