PR Government Files Budget For 2016

Caribbean Business

LUIS J. VALENTÍN & DENNIS COSTA

The Puerto Rico government submitted to the Legislature a $9.8 billion 

budget proposal Wednesday that calls for $674 million in spending cuts 

amid the island's fiscal crisis. The submitted budget bill for fiscal 2016 

contemplates a consolidated budget of $28.8 billion, $9.8 billion of which 

would correspond to the commonwealth's General Fund. It is about $235 

million higher than the current fiscal year's budget. The bill, which pro-

poses $674 million in government spending cuts, also allocates about 

$1.54 billion toward servicing the commonwealth's debt, an increase of 

$400 million over the previous year's budget.

The budget proposal also includes clauses that tie it to the tax bill being 

considered in the House, which calls for increasing the 7% sales & use 

tax (IVU by its Spanish acronym) to 11.5%...[CONTINUE READING]