Puerto Rican Activists Warn Tax Bill Could Devastate Island Even More
The House proposal included a 20 percent excise tax on companies manufacturing under "foreign" jurisdictions. Puerto Rico was included in that definition, even though its citizens are American citizens
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Matt Raible, paralyzed by a mortar round in Vietnam, is working with his third service dog, paired with the veteran through nonprofit group Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). He told CNBC that each dog helped him navigate life after war in new and meaningful ways. The group provides assistance dogs free of charge to adults, children and veterans like Raible, who are disabled. “Veterans returning after having served are trying to navigate a very, very challenging transition, a transition that a lot of us can’t really even imagine,” said Ellen Torop, CCI’s Northeast Regional Program Director.
A coalition of Puerto Rican and Latino groups have told members of Congress that any tax increases on U.S. corporations operating on the island would devastate an already battered economy, NBC News reported.
The group #Power4PuertoRico went to the offices of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as well as the offices of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., as congressional negotiators hammered out a tax bill they hope to sign into law next week.
AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa
A house damaged by Hurricane Maria stands in Naranjito, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. The relief effort from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico has so far been concentrated largely in San Juan, and many outside the capital say they've received little or no help.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Steven Sands, left, talks with Alejandro Garcia, coping with the lack of electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017.
AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa
A damaged Puerto Rican national flag spray painted with the words "Together as One" hangs from the facade of a business, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. The relief effort from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico has so far been concentrated largely in San Juan, and many outside the capital say they've received little or no help.
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A man stands among debris outside his destroyed home as sun sets in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.
Julie Jacobson/AP
Juan Rojas, right, of Queens, hugs his 4-year-old grandson Elias Rojas, as his daughter-in-law Cori Rojas, left, carries her 3-year-old daughter, Lilly, through the terminal at JFK airport after Cori arrived on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, in New York. Cori Rojas, who is a school teacher in Puerto Rico, fled Puerto Rico with her children after Hurricane Maria left the island devastated and will stay with her in-laws in Queens while her husband, who works for a global insurance firm chose to stay behind.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Downed paper lines and debris are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Nestor Serrano walks on the upstairs floor of his home, where the walls were blown off, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Governor Ricardo Rossello and Resident Commissioner Jennifer Gonzalez, the islandu2019s representative in Congress, said they intend to seek more than a billion in federal assistance. President Donald Trump plans to visit the island territory next week.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Evan Mandino stands among debris outside his destroyed home as sun sets in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Evan Mandino, right, sits with neighbors on a couch outside their destroyed homes as sun sets in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.
Joe Raedle/Getty
Sister Gloria Flores checks in on a patient at the Hermanitas de los Ancianos Desamparados facility which cares for the elderly as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Sept. 26, 2017, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sister Flores hopes aid u2014 including fuel for the facilities generators, as well as food and medicine u2014 arrive as they care for their more than 195 elderly patients after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, devastated the island.
Joe Raedle/Getty
Joanne Torres sits on a cot with her daughters, Eliana Heredia and Marianny Reynoso, in the Centro de Servicios Integrados de Barrio Obrero shelter that was setup for displaced people after Hurricane Maria on Sept. 26, 2017, in San Juan Puerto Rico. Ms. Torres has been at the shelter for three days after Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage, including most of the electrical, gas and water grid after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, devastated the island.
Joe Raedle/Getty
People wait in line to get a flight out of the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as they try to return home or escape the conditions after Hurricane Maria on Sept. 26, 2017, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Some of the people have waited days at the airport in hopes of getting onto a plane after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, devastated the island.
Joe Raedle/Getty
People wait in line to get a flight out of the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as they try to return home or escape the conditions after Hurricane Maria on Sept. 26, 2017, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Some of the people have waited days at the airport in hopes of getting onto a plane after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, devastated the island.
Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty
People walk across a flooded street in Juana Matos, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21, 2017, as the country faced dangerous flooding and an island-wide power outage following Hurricane Maria.
NOAA/AP
This combination of photos released by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Puerto Rico at night on July 24, 2017, top, before the passing of Hurricane Maria, and on Sept. 25, days after the hurricane wiped out most of the island's power. NOAA corrected the date of the bottom image to Sept. 25 on Twitter. Most of Puerto Rico has been without lights or air conditioning since the passing of Maria on Sept. 20 and is looking at many more.
Gerald Herbert/AP
People line up with gas cans to get fuel form a gas station, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The U.S. ramped up its response Monday to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico while the Trump administration sought to blunt criticism that its response to Hurricane Maria has fallen short of it efforts in Texas and Florida after the recent hurricanes there.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty
Cars drive through a flooded road in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21, 2017.nPuerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called "the most devastating storm in a century," had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain.
Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty
Residents of San Juan, Puerto Rico, deal with damages to their homes on Sept. 20, 2017, as Hurricane Maria batters the island. Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on Wednesday, cutting power on most of the US territory as terrified residents hunkered down in the face of the island's worst storm in living memory. After leaving a deadly trail of destruction on a string of smaller Caribbean islands, Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico's southeast coast around daybreak, packing winds of around 150mph (240kph).
AP
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, supplies loaded onto an MV-22 Osprey aircraft attached to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sept. 25, 2017. Kearsarge is assisting with relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
Trees are toppled in a parking lot at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 20, 2017, during the passage of the Hurricane Maria.
Ben Fox/AP
People wait in line outside a grocery store to buy food that wouldn't spoil and that they could prepare without electricity, in San Juan, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Most stores and restaurants remained closed Monday. Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power or water five days after Hurricane Maria.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Damaged homes are seen in La Perla community in Old San Juan after Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The island territory of more than 3 million U.S. citizens is reeling in the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria.
Carlos Giusti/AP
La Perla resident Ramon Marrero, 76, stands in his battered residence after Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The island territory of more than 3 million U.S. citizens is reeling in the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Rodolfo Pascual and his mother Marlisael Pearson stand in their home at La Perla community in Old San Juan after Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The island territory of more than 3 million U.S. citizens is reeling in the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria.
AP
Jose Garcia Vicente holds a piece of plumbing he picked up, as he shows his destroyed home, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The U.S. ramped up its response Monday to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico while the Trump administration sought to blunt criticism that its response to Hurricane Maria has fallen short of it efforts in Texas and Florida after the recent hurricanes there.
Gerald Herbert/AP
A stuffed animal its seen in the ruins of the home of Jose Garcia Vicente, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The U.S. ramped up its response Monday to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico while the Trump administration sought to blunt criticism that its response to Hurricane Maria has fallen short of it efforts in Texas and Florida after the recent hurricanes there.
AP
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Marines attached to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU), embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), load military field rations, known as MRE or meals, ready to eat, from an MV-22 Osprey aircraft at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sept. 25, 2017. Kearsarge and the 26th MEU are assisting with relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Gerald Herbert/AP
In this Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 photo, stranded passengers rest in the main international airport in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
AP
People walk by buidling that was destroyed in the community La Perla in Old San Juan during Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The island territory of more than 3 million U.S. citizens is reeling in the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria.
At issue are several tax proposals; the House proposal included a 20 percent excise tax on companies manufacturing under "foreign" jurisdictions. Puerto Rico was included in that definition, even though its citizens are American citizens. As a territory, Puerto Rico is taxed differently than states.
"If this becomes law," said Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) in a recent statement, "you can expect to see more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs disappear from the Island. And the government of Puerto Rico could lose one-third of its revenue."
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