Puerto Rico Treasury Chief Urges Reconsideration of Tax Plan

Puerto Rico Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea is urging the board overseeing the island’s finances and debt restructuring to reconsider a tax plan it challenged last week.

During a press conference Tuesday in San Juan, Parés Alicea said the US territory’s government has the financial means to afford the tax plan, which seeks to cut personal income taxes and restructure the corporate income tax. He said the plan is estimated to cost Puerto Rico about $550 million, despite the Financial Oversight and Management Board’s fiscal analysis.

The board issued a statement last week rejecting the proposal, citing local lawmakers’ ...