Treasury shores up $1.2B in April, reports 4% jump in May sales tax collections
Taxes withheld from foreign corporations, which includes payments for use of patents in the manufacturing sector, rose by $64 million. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Net revenue making its way to the Puerto Rico government’s General Fund exceeded $1.2 billion in April, with personal and corporate income tax collections representing 69 percent, or $830 million of the month’s total, agency Secretary Jesús Méndez said Monday.
However, in the case of corporate income tax, it showed a decline of $180 million, largely driven by the relief provided through the tax reform, he said.
“Unlike individuals, the reform’s benefits are experienced monthly in the form of a lower retention, corporations got it mostly upon paying their taxes in April,” Méndez said.
Taxes withheld from foreign corporations, which includes payments for use of patents in the manufacturing sector, rose by $64 million, the agency informed.
As for excise taxes, total revenue reached $228 million, of which the special excise levied on foreign corporations through Law 154 represented $149 million. The other major item was motor vehicles excise taxes, which shored up $32 million during April, equivalent to a year-over-year increase of 11.4 percent.
When compared to April of last year, the current revenue collected showed a decrease, which is attributed to the effect of the tax rate reductions through the tax reform, the elimination of the special property tax, and the decrease in the rate special tax on foreign corporations, Méndez noted.
Meanwhile, Méndez predicted that the Sales and Use Tax (known as IVU for its initials in Spanish) fueled last month’s collections, which reached $89.9 million, reflecting a 4 percent increment when compared to the same month last year.
“During the year there has been an increase in IVU collections, which we attribute to several factors, mainly the improvement in the island’s economic landscape and the various control measures that have been implemented to oversee the payment of this tax,” Méndez concluded.
