The Centro Unido de Detallistas (CUD) is preparing to present a package of legislative measures aimed at changing the regulatory environment and lowering the cost of doing business in Puerto Rico. The measures are part of the "Facilidad para Hacer Negocios" (Ease of Doing Business) pillar of the organization's Fomento Local plan. They focus on three fronts: eliminating the Sales and Use Tax (IVU) in urban centers (cascos urbanos), creating automatic incentives for small and medium-sized businesses (PyMEs), and a comprehensive reform of the permitting system.
CUD president Alan Taveras Sepúlveda said the goal is to correct what the group calls a "two-speed" economy, in which outside capital receives greater incentives and public attention while local capital bears higher burdens and has less access to growth tools. The Fomento Local document states that "the current model rewards the capital that arrives, not the one that is already here."
Removing the IVU is meant to revitalize traditional centers; the automatic incentives would let PyMEs access tax benefits without complex legal processes; and permitting reform would cut the time and cost of opening or expanding a business. Taveras Sepúlveda, who became CUD president on September 14, told Caribbean Business the measures are being drafted with the group's legislative advisers.
The CUD wants to share them with legislators and gather their input first, and expects them ready by the end of this session or early in the next.