House Gov’t Committee chair: No funds exist to suspend 2nd ‘crudita’

By THE STAR STAFF

Rep. Víctor Parés Otero, chairman of the House Government Committee, asserted on Monday that funds do not exist to suspend the second ‘crudita’ (Law 1-2015).

Parés said the lower chamber “will not approve anything that lacks replacement revenue sources -- anything that would amount to imposing a greater burden on the people.”

“Suspending the second ‘crudita’ -- imposed by the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 -- would cost $217.4 million; this amount would have to be covered by eliminating basic services for the public, and that is something we are not going to do,” Parés stated in written remarks.

He noted that on Nov. 1, 2023, the Financial Oversight and Management Board sent a communication establishing that the revenue generated by these excise taxes on gasoline and diesel “represents a significant portion of Puerto Rico’s budget used to sustain the cost of basic services for the people.”

“In April, the [House] speaker -- together with this legislator -- commissioned a technical study from the Legislative Assembly’s Budget Office (OPAL), which determined the cost of such a suspension: $217.4 million for fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1,” Parés said. “Likewise, it is highly irresponsible for the PDP Minority Leader to claim that the cost of a 45-day suspension of this excise tax -- which his own delegation imposed -- is merely $19.1 million. The actual cost is closer to $30 million. We must act responsibly, or the Fiscal Board will never leave Puerto Rico.”