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Treasury: General Fund collections up 16.8% in February

Individual taxes fueled February tax collections, the Treasury Department informed over the weekend. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)

General Fund net revenue totaled $674 million in February, an increase of $97 million or 16.8 percent, when compared with February 2011, Treasury Secretary Jesús F. Méndez said over the weekend.

The total was fueled by income taxes, which increased by $44 million to $179.6 million, while excise taxes jumped by $21 million to $201.8 million for the month, the agency noted. The jump in income taxes comes at the height of this year’s tax season, when individuals have paid $56 million and corporations $19 million.

Meanwhile, excise taxes were fueled by the temporary tax being paid by foreign corporations, which reached $138 million for the month. That total reflects a 376 percent growth in comparison to the $29 million on record for the same month last year, when the excise tax was but a month old.

“This behavior is relevant given that as of January that excise tax rate fell by 25 basis points and still experienced a significant increase,” Méndez said.

Another excise tax that reflected an increase in February pertained to motor vehicles, which totaled $5 million, or 19 percent over the amount on record for the same month last year.

The Treasury chief attributed the increase to a greater consumer buying power resulting from lower taxes resulting from the Tax Reform implemented last year.

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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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