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On Tuesday, Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia expressed his willingness to consider the option of convening an extraordinary session following the elections, provided he secures agreements with the Legislative Assembly.
“At this moment, there is no active legislative session. I am still reviewing bills for either signature or veto,” the governor stated in reply to media inquiries. “There remains a possibility for an extraordinary session. I have not finalized that choice. Should I opt to call one, it would likely be post-elections, yet before the year concludes. I would need to achieve an initial agreement with the legislative leadership, as I aim to avoid unnecessary disputes.”
Pierluisi mentioned his belief that reaching a consensus with the Legislature could lead to the approval of proposals like tax amendments concerning inventories.
“However, I must reiterate that I am not making that determination at this time as I do not wish to proceed unilaterally,” he clarified. “… If you notice I am calling for an extraordinary session, it will indicate that I have established some agreements with legislative leadership concerning the agenda for that session. One potential topic could be that. Another issue worth noting might be the global minimum tax. These are significant topics that have yet to be addressed and could potentially be tackled in an extraordinary session. …”
The governor indicated that he aims to secure approval for a measure that would pause the municipal tax until a replacement is identified.
“To abolish the inventory tax, legislation is required,” Pierluisi explained. “I previously backed a bill aimed at freezing the inventory tax receipts for five years and using that time to find a substitute. The challenge was that the legislation, as proposed, ultimately did not pass because it included an automatic tax elimination at the end of that period, which should not happen without an alternative in place. My preference has always been that the legislation allows both the legislative body and municipalities, along with CRIM [the Municipal Revenue Collection Center] and the private sector, to identify a sensible substitute. That remains my stance.”
“I believe it is feasible to establish a committee or commission representing the private sector and municipalities to work towards finding a substitute over five years,” the governor added. “In the meantime, the tax amount would be frozen, incentivizing the retention of more inventory since there would be no higher payments for additional inventory.”
