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CRIM launches 100-day amnesty, seeks to collect $60M

CRIM Executive Director Víctor Falcón-Dávila (at podium) and CRIM Chairman Eduard Rivera Correa.

CRIM Executive Director Víctor Falcón-Dávila (at podium) and CRIM Chairman Eduard Rivera Correa.

The Municipal Revenue Collections Center, known as CRIM by its initials in Spanish, announced today’s start of a 100-day amnesty relieving taxpayers who are in arrears with the agency from paying interest, surcharges and penalties on their debt.

The amnesty will end March 27, CRIM Executive Director Víctor Falcón-Dávila said. At the end of the term, the agency expects to have collected $60 million in due payments.

The amnesty is the result of Law 145 of Dec. 9, 2013, which establishes an incentive plan and/or amnesty for the payment of debt related to taxes on real and personal property. The law also waives payment of all interest, surcharges and penalties of the debts covered in the incentive plan and/or amnesty and until the date they are paid off.

“It is widely known that many citizens are unable to meet their tax responsibilities due to unemployment, and the economic crisis, among others,” Falcón-Dávila said.

“In the case of outstanding debt with CRIM, the totals are increasing due to penalties, surcharges and interest. This amnesty offers the taxpayer the opportunity to catch up, to choose between an instant payment in full or alternative payment plans to pay the debt in installments. There are zero surcharges, penalties and zero interest,” he said.

To qualify for the amnesty, taxpayers must file an application for full payment or payment plan. The amnesty does not apply to property debt for Fiscal 2014 and personal property in 2013 and beyond. To receive incentive plan or amnesty benefits for real estate property, they must have paid taxes for Fiscal 2014 and thereafter.

Debt that is paid off will not be subject to any type of interest, accrued charges and/or penalties on debts covered by the incentive plan. For payment plans, every taxpayer must sign the agreement and make an initial minimum payment of the principal to qualify.

Taxpayers can opt to pay in installments for between one and four years, during which the interest rate will vary from 5 percent to 10 percent. However, if the amount is paid off in a year, no interest charges will accrue, the CRIM explained.

Falcón-Dávila explained that defaulting on the payment plan will result in restoring the debt, including interest, surcharges and penalties, without any relief or discount.

“The taxpayer will be referred to collections and liens for due process,” he said.

Taxpayers must visit CRIM’s headquarters or 22 regional offices to apply for the incentive plan. While payments can be made in person, he added that taxpayers can also go to the agency’s website to pay.

“In the coming days, those taxpayers who are eligible for the incentive plan will be receiving a notification detailing the amount owed and the benefit to to which they are eligible,” said Falcón-Dávila.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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