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So the IRS can tax Americans everywhere in the world except Puerto Rico?

by jgh 9y ago

seanmccann 9y ago
I believe capital gains are not taxed in PR to incentivize new investment from the US. There are a handful of other tax incentives too.
JumpCrisscross 9y ago
"The following items shall not be included in gross income and shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle...In the case of an individual who is a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico during the entire taxable year, income derived from sources within Puerto Rico (except amounts received for services performed as an employee of the United States or any agency thereof)..." The "subtitle" in question is is 26 U.S.C. Subtitle A, i.e. the Income Taxes subtitle [2]. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/933 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/933 [2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/subtitle-A https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/subtitle-A Disclaimer: I am neither a lawyer nor a tax specialist. This is not advice of any kind. Do not interpret my Internet commentary as legal or tax advice.
chimeracoder 9y ago
> So the IRS can tax Americans everywhere in the world except Puerto Rico? Congress passed some tax laws to incentivize "investment" in Puerto Rico. They haven't been particularly effective. The reason that they passed these tax laws is because they wanted to try something to boost the Puerto Rican economy that did not involve addressing the underlying issue for why Puerto Rico's economy has stagnated for decades. Repealing the Jones Act would fix most of these problems, but the Jones Act is politically popular with major Democratic supporters, and Republicans (as a party) tend not to care about Puerto Rico, so the initiative to repeal it never went anywhere. In the end, there's no amount of tax incentivizing that can make up for the costs that the Jones Act imposes on the Puerto Rican economy, which is why the tax laws didn't halt the brain drain. Of course, the failure to provide effective disaster relief in Puerto Rico this past year hasn't exactly helped either.
- jgh 9y ago
  Why is the Jones Act popular with democrats?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - p_eter_p 9y ago
    "The domestic shipping industry is an economic behemoth in Florida, contributing 52,140 maritime jobs and $9.6 billion to Florida’s economy, according to a 2014 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Port of Jacksonville is the nation’s hub for Jones Act shipping to Puerto Rico, and Florida ranks second among all states in jobs affected by the domestic maritime industry." http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article177071371.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article177...
    - chimeracoder 9y ago
      > "The domestic shipping industry is an economic behemoth in Florida, contributing 52,140 maritime jobs and $9.6 billion to Florida’s economy, according to a 2014 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Port of Jacksonville is the nation’s hub for Jones Act shipping to Puerto Rico, and Florida ranks second among all states in jobs affected by the domestic maritime industry." While that's true, that's not the reason that Democrats specifically are unwilling to touch the Jones Act. Florida is a pretty purple state, and Democratic senators from other states don't care as much about the shipping industry in Florida. Furthermore, Marco Rubio (a Republican) represents Florida, but he was actually a strong advocate of waiving (though not repealing) the Jones Act after Hurricane Maria. The reason Democrats in particular are unwilling to touch the Jones Act is because the AFL-CIO lobbies for it very, very heavily. The AFL-CIO lobbies for the Jones Act in general because it boosts the demand for jobs in unions that they control. In addition, the AFL-CIO also has a "complicated" relationship with Puerto Rico, which is why they so specifically opposed temporarily waiving the Jones Act for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit, even though they've begrudgingly accepted temporary waivers for US cities hit by other recent hurricanes (like Harvey in Houston).

So the IRS can tax Americans everywhere in the world except Puerto Rico?

by jgh 9y ago

So the IRS can tax Americans everywhere in the world except Puerto Rico?

I believe capital gains are not taxed in PR to incentivize new investment from the US. There are a handful of other tax incentives too.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

"The following items shall not be included in gross income and shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle...In the case of an individual who is a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico during the entire taxable year, income derived from sources within Puerto Rico (except amounts received for services performed as an employee of the United States or any agency thereof)..." The "subtitle" in question is is 26 U.S.C. Subtitle A, i.e. the Income Taxes subtitle [2]. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/933 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/933 [2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/subtitle-A https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/subtitle-A Disclaimer: I am neither a lawyer nor a tax specialist. This is not advice of any kind. Do not interpret my Internet commentary as legal or tax advice.

chimeracoder 9y ago

> So the IRS can tax Americans everywhere in the world except Puerto Rico? Congress passed some tax laws to incentivize "investment" in Puerto Rico. They haven't been particularly effective. The reason that they passed these tax laws is because they wanted to try something to boost the Puerto Rican economy that did not involve addressing the underlying issue for why Puerto Rico's economy has stagnated for decades. Repealing the Jones Act would fix most of these problems, but the Jones Act is politically popular with major Democratic supporters, and Republicans (as a party) tend not to care about Puerto Rico, so the initiative to repeal it never went anywhere. In the end, there's no amount of tax incentivizing that can make up for the costs that the Jones Act imposes on the Puerto Rican economy, which is why the tax laws didn't halt the brain drain. Of course, the failure to provide effective disaster relief in Puerto Rico this past year hasn't exactly helped either.

jgh 9y ago
Why is the Jones Act popular with democrats?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- p_eter_p 9y ago
  "The domestic shipping industry is an economic behemoth in Florida, contributing 52,140 maritime jobs and $9.6 billion to Florida’s economy, according to a 2014 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Port of Jacksonville is the nation’s hub for Jones Act shipping to Puerto Rico, and Florida ranks second among all states in jobs affected by the domestic maritime industry." http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article177071371.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article177...
  - chimeracoder 9y ago
    > "The domestic shipping industry is an economic behemoth in Florida, contributing 52,140 maritime jobs and $9.6 billion to Florida’s economy, according to a 2014 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Port of Jacksonville is the nation’s hub for Jones Act shipping to Puerto Rico, and Florida ranks second among all states in jobs affected by the domestic maritime industry." While that's true, that's not the reason that Democrats specifically are unwilling to touch the Jones Act. Florida is a pretty purple state, and Democratic senators from other states don't care as much about the shipping industry in Florida. Furthermore, Marco Rubio (a Republican) represents Florida, but he was actually a strong advocate of waiving (though not repealing) the Jones Act after Hurricane Maria. The reason Democrats in particular are unwilling to touch the Jones Act is because the AFL-CIO lobbies for it very, very heavily. The AFL-CIO lobbies for the Jones Act in general because it boosts the demand for jobs in unions that they control. In addition, the AFL-CIO also has a "complicated" relationship with Puerto Rico, which is why they so specifically opposed temporarily waiving the Jones Act for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit, even though they've begrudgingly accepted temporary waivers for US cities hit by other recent hurricanes (like Harvey in Houston).