By The Star Staff
Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau Ramírez reiterated at a Chamber of Commerce of Puerto Rico event this week the need to establish a fixed tax rate of 15% for foreign-controlled corporations operating on the island and instead give them non-tax benefits.
Dalmau emphasized that the proposed tax policy is not just about reducing the tax rates of foreign-controlled corporations, but also about creating a fair and balanced system that reduces the burden on local companies, hoping to make the audience feel that their interests are being considered and protected.
“Then the question, not whether they pay, is where and if we can have an economic injection that allows us to have the necessary funds to create a fund for Puerto Rican business development, to be able to reduce taxes for Puerto Rican companies, of which you belong, then we can be more competitive,” he said.
Dalmau said there will always be those who say these companies will leave if they pay a 15% tax, but he noted that what needs to be done is to give them non-tax benefits. For instance, he mentioned the expansion of infrastructure financing, which has to do with labor training and childcare, “that is lowering the operational costs of many of these companies, even being able to say that we can partially subsidize what may be renewable energy technologies,” the PIP leader said.
According to the audited financial statements for 2022, a year after the commonwealth debt restructuring, Puerto Rico’s accumulated government deficit was $51.1 billion. The yearly deficit is about $3 billion.
Dalmau has said the fixed-rate tax will be one of the ways to help Puerto Rico reduce the deficit.