Treasury surpasses projections by $1.01 billion, driven by excise taxes and corporate income. #NewsismyBusiness
Lawmakers and members of the executive branch gathered at the Puerto Rico Convention Center today are said to be considering six different scenarios that would combine a hybrid structure of a sales and use tax and a general excise tax to shore up the government’s finances.
The Puerto Rico Senate passed legislation Thursday that exempts electric-powered vehicles from excise taxes as established by Senate Bill 884, which proposes the "Act for the Promotion of Vehicles Powered Mostly by Electricity.”
Puerto Rico Treasury Department officials told lawmakers Friday that collections stemming from the proposed increase in the excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco should go in their entirety to the General Fund and not distributed for other purposes, as proposed by the three measures under consideration by the Legislature.
Puerto Rico Treasury Department collections totaled $665 million in January, a 9 percent, or $67 million, drop from what the government reported during the same month last year, agency Secretary Melba Acosta said Tuesday.
Puerto Rico stands to gain if the tax package crafted by President Obama and Republican lawmakers passes in the House, as it contains an extension of the rum excise tax that shores up millions for the island each year.
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