P.R. revenue collections reach $1.05B in July, Treasury Dept. says
Preliminary net revenues collected and deposited into Puerto Rico’s General Fund for the recently begun Fiscal 2020 totaled $1.05 billion, Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés said.
“July 2019 revenues surpassed last year’s revenues by $305.5 million, a 41.2% increase,” he said, adding that July 2019 revenues were $159.9 million above projections.
The corporate income tax category was one of the main revenue drivers responsible for the increase compared to July 2018, Parés said, with payments reflecting a $166.2 million, or 185.7%, year-over-year increase.
This is attributed to a specific business transaction by an undisclosed corporation, which produced tax payments. The collections exceeded monthly projections by $101.9 million, or 66.3%.
Revenue from the excise tax on foreign corporations, established by Act 154 of 2010, totaled $383.4 million, a year-over-year increase of $133.3 million, and $35.9 million above projections, Parés said.
In addition, collections from individual income taxes exceeded July 2018 collections by $13 million. July 2019 net revenues in this category totaled $143.3 million, exceeding projections by $7.9 million, he said.
“In July, [Sales and Use Tax] revenue totaled $179.3 million, including $91.6 million that went to the General Fund. It must be stated that, startting in July 2019, the method used to record SUT payments was modified in light of the COFINA Plan of Adjustment,” he said, referring to the Sales Tax Financing Corp., known as COFINA.
“Under the new methodology, payments received will be recorded at the time the return is filed. Therefore, some payments made in July will be reflected after August 20, the due date to file the monthly SUT return,” he said.
Motor vehicle excise taxes totaled $34.2 million in July, surpassing projections by $10.3 million, said Parés who anticipated a positive performance in August.
