Big pharmaceutical companies in Puerto Rico are getting huge tax breaks while every taxpaying American pays $400 to subsidize the island’s economy, an expert on the territory explains.
Alexander Odishelidze, author of “Pay to the Order of Puerto Rico,” says the longtime influence of the drug firms on politicians in Washington means they’ve been getting a “free ride” on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.
He contends the fact that pharmaceuticals with Puerto Rico addresses pay virtually no taxes deprives the island’s government of revenues needed to provide services to its 3.8 million residents.
“These loopholes are not only bad for Puerto Rico’s economy – they’re costly for U.S. taxpayers,” Odishelidze explained. “Each year, about $22 billion are siphoned from the U.S. treasury to help subsidize the island’s food, housing, medical assistance and road maintenance programs.
“Each U.S. taxpayer will contribute $400 this year to keep Puerto Rico’s economy afloat so the giant U.S. pharmaceuticals can pocket $5 billion in tax credits.”
Odishelidze says Puerto Ricans don’t want handouts from Americans. Rather, they want to have a change in status so the island would be either an independent nation or the 51st state of the Union. New territorial status would enable Puerto Rico to levy taxes on businesses and independently initiate programs to bolster its own economic self-sufficiency.
Odishelidze says such a change is unlikely since it would have to be approved by Congress, whose members receive millions of dollars in contributions from drug companies.
“Puerto Rico has had less than full freedom within the American system for more than a century,” said Odishelidze. “In that period, the Congress of the United States has repeatedly failed to forward or enact legislation that would permit Puerto Rico to stage a clear and consequential vote on acceptable options for a permanent status.”
The author says the issue is about “freeing millions of people from the shackles of economic dependency which is the tragic unintended effect of the current system.”
Odishelidze co-authored “Pay to the Order of Puerto Rico with economist Arthur Laffer.
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WND Staff