House grants executive branch 10 days to provide economic data on Internal Revenue Code changes

By THE STAR STAFF

The island House of Representatives has granted the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget 10 calendar days to provide the requested economic information as part of the evaluation of the changes to the Internal Revenue Code, House Finance Committee Chairman Eddie Charbonier Chinea announced on Tuesday.

“We asked the Secretary of the Treasury, Ángel Pantojas Rodríguez, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Orlando Rivera Berríos, and they said they would produce the requested information in five days,” Charbonier Chinea said in a written statement. “We are not asking for anything extraordinary; it’s an economic report, a breakdown of the savings that the government of Puerto Rico will achieve.”

The legislator noted that the required information includes the fiscal impact of eliminating the sales and use tax exemption on solar panels and hybrid cars, data that was requested during the first public hearing held on Jan. 14.

Charbonier Chinea denied statements attributed to Public Affairs Secretary Jean Peña Payano regarding the alleged delivery of the information from the beginning of the process, and noted that both agencies formally requested an extension to comply with the request.

“The longer they take to provide the information, the longer it will take the House and the Senate to make their decision,” he said. “No one here is going to shirk their constitutional responsibility.”

The Finance Committee chairman warned that if the deadline is not met, the House may resort to the courts to demand the delivery of the information necessary to continue with the legislative evaluation.