FEATURED PRESENTATION:
The Puerto Rico Tax Incentives Code supports activities that promote tourism, manufacturing, investment banking, and service industries, etc. both in Puerto Rico, the U.S., and the Caribbean. This presentation discusses and analyses the trajectory and history of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, from its inclusion as a US territory, subsequent to being acquired by the US, following the Spanish American War in 1898, and the developments that followed. This discussion entails the legal ramifications impacted with the different programs implemented to enhance, improve, and contribute to the economy in Puerto Rico, and its citizens. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, its residents are U.S. citizens. We shall endeavor to focus on the implementation in connection to our different tax incentive programs, provided exclusively in Puerto Rico, to attract businesses to the commonwealth. PR is one of the United States’ main recipient and client in regard to purchasing goods, widgets, and services in furtherance to interstate commerce, from the US. Our Economic Incentives Program is a conduit for companies throughout the world to do business in PR, the same being a US territory. The same is effectuated vis a vis different business entities, (corp., LLC, partnerships) that are basically the same as those doing business in the state of Delaware. This is premised on the fact that businesses and residents of PR, are not subject to US federal taxes from PR sources, since PR is a commonwealth and not a state. This is the reasoning why most of the entities manufacturing and selling prescription drugs and pharmaceutical products are grantees and recipients of the tax exemption grants. The program may be advantageous, for tax purposes, for you and your clients to peruse and take advantage of the benefits of our program.
John R. O'Connor is a bilingual civil and commercial attorney, fully fluent in Spanish and English, representing individuals and business entities in Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico. He is admitted to practice law in these jurisdictions, as well as in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court, and the Third Judicial District Appellate Division in New York. In Puerto Rico, he is authorized to practice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, MA, where he served as lead counsel during oral arguments. Mr. O'Connor holds a BA from New York University, where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Biology in 1976. He earned his JD from the Interamerican University School of Law in San Juan, PR, in 1980. Currently in private practice, he also serves as Legal Counsel for General Procurement, Inc., a California-based company involved in manufacturing and service industries, as well as for its associated concerns and/or subsidiaries. His representation has included major entities such as Hyundai Corporation, and/or its subsidiaries, focusing on tax exemption issues, patent and trademark filings, and contract negotiations, particularly under Puerto Rico's Tax Incentives Code (Act 60, formerly Acts 73, 20, and 22).
