The new year that began yesterday is already characterized by a high level of uncertainty, largely due to the changes that have occurred and will occur in Puerto Rico’s environment.
Although Puerto Rico appears to have lost its major corporate tax advantage following the approval of the U.S. Tax Reform, if it were to backfire and motivate companies to send jobs overseas and transfer revenues to other countries, Puerto Rico could have a chance to survive the predicted economic onslaught associated with the measure.
The recently passed Fedetal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have implications for Puerto Rico’s economic that will start to become more noticeable after fiscal year 2019, local research firm Estudios Técnicos Inc. predicted in an analysis released this week.
Representatives from Puerto Rico’s private sector agreed Monday to back Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s urgent call to Congress to treat the island as a U.S. — not foreign — jurisdiction in the federal tax reform currently being discussed.
The draft bill of the U.S. tax reform being considered in Congress has the potential to “catastrophically impact” the island’s economy, jeopardizing more than 70,000 well- paid jobs and more than 35 percent of the Commonwealth’s budget, Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association President Rodrigo Masses warned Monday.
Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector took a major hit from Hurricanes Irma and María in September, but are in recovery mode and back in production to ensure continuity in the availability of medications in Puerto Rico and globally, Jaime Palacios, president of the Pharmaceutical Industry Association said Wednesday.
Puerto Rico’s population will dip under 3 million within a year — for the first time since the mid-1970s — if current rates of emigration continue, warns Jenniffer González-Colón, the island’s resident commissioner in Washington.
Manufacturing operations — including pharmaceuticals and medical device makers — have not given notice of plans to leave the island despite the hardship conditions Hurricane María left in its wake, Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Laboy said Monday.
Baxter International Inc. said Thursday while it is anticipating a reduction in revenue for fourth quarter 2017 as a result of Hurricane María, it expects to “mitigate the related earnings impact through positive performance in other areas of the business.”
Avara’s Arecibo plant did not sustain significant impact to its critical manufacturing areas, and the company is expected to continue delivering to customers, the company’s CEO, Tim Tyson said Thursday.
Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. provided an update on its Aspen Surgical facility in Las Piedras, where it manufactures Bard-Parker surgical scalpels and blades.
Power management company Eaton announced that its four facilities have returned to operation following the recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Economic Development and Commerce Secretary, Manuel A. Laboy-Rivera said the agency is “focused on continuing to work with the Integrated Economic Development Plan (PDEI) to further increase the island’s manufacturing index to more than 50 percent.
Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer González-Colón, has filed legislation to extend indefinitely the application of Internal Revenue Code Section 199 in Puerto Rico, together with co-sponsors congressmen Carlos Curbelo (R-Florida 26), John Lewis (D-Georgia 5) and José Serrano (D-NY 15).
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis (NSA), the Purchasing Managers Index for Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector edged down to 49.1 in November, suggesting a contraction in the sector with respect to the previous month.
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