WASHINGTON, D.C.–Today the Hispanic Leadership Fund sent letters to House and Senate leadership, as well as conferees working on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, calling for the removal of a new tax on certain businesses operating in Puerto Rico.
Separate measures in the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would impose new taxes on products manufactured in Puerto Rico by “Controlled Foreign Corporations“ (CFCs), chilling investment and job creation and harming hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens living and working on the American territory of Puerto Rico. These taxes would negatively affect the jobs of over 235,000 Americans working in the manufacturing sector in Puerto Rico, which account for 25% of the workforce and 48% of the island’s GDP.
“The letter makes the case that the imposition of a new tax “threatens one of every two jobs in Puerto Rico, whether directly or indirectly. Those results would be catastrophic for Puerto Rico and severely jeopardize its economic future.”
“In the face of devastating hurricane damage, a decade-long economic recession, and an outmigration crisis, Puerto Rico needs sound economic policies to help accelerate its recovery and provide more, not less, opportunity for the 3.4 million American citizens living and working on the island,” said HLF president Mario H. Lopez. “Puerto Ricans are American citizens, yet this new tax on CFCs treats the commonwealth as a foreign country, rather than an American territory. We hope Congress will move immediately to fix this issue.”
The full letter can be accessed here.
