General Fund revenue from December exceeded estimates by 28%
Puerto Rico Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea
By THE STAR STAFF
Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea announced over the weekend that the net income of the General Fund for the month of December 2022 amounted to $1.411.2 billion, $309.9 million, or 28%, more than estimated for that month.
The first half of fiscal year (FY) 2023 (July to December 2022), meanwhile, showed $5.422 billion in collections, which exceeds the projection for that period by $668.2 billion. It also exceeds what was collected during the first six months of the previous fiscal year by $1.54 billion.
“This is important, given that, as a result of the passage of Hurricane Fiona through Puerto Rico, the department implemented a series of administrative measures that postponed several filing dates and payments and, even so, the collections have exceeded what was projected so far,” Parés Alicea said in a written statement.
The fiscal plan certified on Jan. 27, 2022 established a revenue projection for FY 2023 of $11.145 billion. Soon, the Financial Oversight and Management Board is expected to review the fiscal plan in close collaboration with the island government.
Meanwhile, the immediate economic effect of Hurricane Fiona on revenues and other external factors, such as the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy of raising interest rates as a mechanism to curb inflation, have acquired greater relevance with respect to income.
Likewise, administrative determination No. 22-08 (DA 22-08), published by the Treasury Department, established several tax administration measures in response to the emergency caused by Hurricane Fiona, including: postponements of the filing date of income tax returns and corresponding payments of contributions for individuals and corporate entities (until Dec. 15, 2022), the temporary suspension of the payment of the sales and use tax (IVU by its Spanish acronym) on the importation of goods introduced for resale (until Oct. 31, 2022) and the exemption from the payment of the IVU on prepared foods (until Oct. 13, 2022).