Puerto Rican single sites face tax hike

Puerto Rico’s government has proposed an increase in licensing costs for single site machines as part of a package of financial initiatives in support of the territory’s budget.

The revenue projection underpinning the budget for the next fiscal year suggests that the government is looking to raise $60m by increasing in the cost of gaming machine licences for single site machines.

The information was released on the 8 June by the secretary of the Department of Finance, Raúl Maldonado Gautier, in response to a request for information by the Senate and House of Representatives’ Finance Committees.

In a letter, the secretary of Finance also revealed that his department plans to raise an additional $44m though unspecified ‘technical amendments’ to a tax reform project.

Speaking to local media, senator Migdalia Padilla, president of the Senate Finance Committee, said she did not know what the ‘technical amendments’ were that Maldonado Gautier was referring to.

The letter limited itself to stating that these amendments do not represent a new tax, and specifies that they will be addressed through legislation.

Regarding the licences for gaming machines, Padilla clarified that the rise in costs will apply to gaming terminals located in cafes, bakeries and other businesses.