Business leaders and Puerto Rico House lawmakers debated tax policy, energy reform, labor rules and water infrastructure at a hearing held Tuesday at the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association (PRMA). The hearing was convened under House Resolution 456 by the House Committee on Reorganization, Efficiency and Diligence, chaired by Rep. Ángel Morey Noble, and the House Committee on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.
On taxes, industry representatives said municipal sales tax bureaucracy and State Insurance Fund employer costs burden businesses. Carlos Serrano, chair of the PRMA’s Fiscal Policy Committee, urged investing government surpluses in equipment and capital incentives. Kenneth Rivera, secretary of the PRMA board, called the tax system too complex and favored pre-filled returns and accelerated depreciation.
On energy, PRMA representatives opposed a return to a state-run monopoly under the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Eidalia González urged strict performance metrics for private operators, faster battery storage projects by Genera PR and quicker approval of the Integrated Resource Plan, and cautioned against nuclear energy without evaluating costs and water use. Rubén Ríos warned that litigation is deterring investment, with companies eyeing Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Morey Noble highlighted House Bill 1092, which would include small modular nuclear reactors as base-load generation. On labor, Georyanne Ríos cited a participation rate of roughly 45% versus about 61% on the US mainland. The group backed eliminating the Minimum Wage Commission.
Morey Noble agreed on avoiding added business costs. Engineer Carlos González said about 350 million gallons of water per day are lost in the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority system and proposed bottom-oxygenation technology and audit brigades for roughly 10,000 miles of pipelines.