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Domingo, January 15, 2012

Pierluisi Seeks Puerto Rico’s Inclusion in Forthcoming Obama Administration Proposals to Encourage U.S. Companies to Create American Jobs

San Juan, Puerto Rico – In a letter sent Friday, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi urged President Obama to include Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories in his soon-to-be released set of proposals designed to encourage to U.S. companies to create American jobs

“We write to respectfully ask that you work with us to ensure that our constituents are fully and fairly included in any proposal that the Administration puts forward, bearing in mind the unique tax systems that apply in our jurisdictions,” said the letter sent to the President, which was spearheaded by Pierluisi and signed by the other territorial delegates.

President Obama’s proposals will seek to reward U.S. companies that invest in the United States and to eliminate tax benefits for U.S. firms that move their operations abroad.

“In the last three years, your Administration has established a strong and consistent record of including the U.S. territories in tax-based initiatives designed to strengthen the national economy and reduce unemployment. For example, the February 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included the territories in nearly all of its major provisions, including the Making Work Pay and American Opportunity tax credits. These credits were made applicable to the territories through grant mechanisms, whereby each territory government was authorized to offer the credits through its local tax system and to obtain reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury for the lost revenue,” said Pierluisi and the other delegates in the letter.

In addition, the letter continued, “the territories were fully included in the March 2010 Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act. Section 102 of the HIRE Act enabled an employer to take a $1,000 income tax credit for every new employee hired and retained for at least one year. With the Administration’s strong support, the territories were again included in this provision through a grant mechanism.”

Most recently, as a result of the Resident Commissioner’s efforts, the territories were fully and fairly included in all major pillars of the American Jobs Act, which President Obama transmitted to Congress in September 2011, including the bill’s provisions to provide income tax credits to companies that hire the long-term unemployed and military veterans. The tax credit for hiring veterans was enacted into law in November 2011 as the VOW to Hire Heroes Act¸ and it included the territories.

“We are grateful that your Administration—through its actions—has demonstrated its recognition of the fact that jobs in the territories are American jobs. As you work to develop your most recent set of proposals aimed at putting our country back to work, we hope you will continue to build upon this record of inclusion. We look forward to working with you towards this end,” the Pierluisi-led letter to President Obama concluded.