Here’s How The Super Rich Use Puerto Rico As A Tax Haven
Thomas Catenacci
Reporter
January 17, 2021 8:51 PM ET
Puerto Rico tax laws enacted in 2012 have incentivized thousands of Americans and businesses to relocate to and invest in the island, according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“I believe it is my moral duty to minimize my taxes,†Lobo Tiggre, a stock trader who moved to Puerto Rico to benefit from the island’s tax code, told GQ.
A 2020 IRS report found that 647 individuals who moved from the U.S. paid a total of $557,978,112 in federal income taxes in the five years prior to their relocation to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has become a popular tax haven for super rich Americans who take advantage of local laws, which allow them to avoid paying U.S. federal income taxes.
Over the last decade, thousands of wealthy Americans have built homes, started businesses and spent a significant amount of time in Puerto Rico, all in order to take advantage of the island’s tax code that exempts them from U.S. taxes. While just a few thousand have taken advantage of the law, the U.S. federal government has potentially lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“It’s being done, in a sense, in plain sight,†Peter Palsen, an international tax expert at the Washington D.C-area law firm Frost Law, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The IRS has the knowledge of who’s doing it.â€
In 2012, the Puerto Rican government enacted two tax laws, Act 20 and Act 22, which were intended to incentivize wealthy individuals from around the world to move to the island and invest in its economy. In 2019, the laws were combined into a single law: Act 60.
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https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/17/wealthy-americans-puerto-rico-federal-income-tax-haven/
