Wednesday, March 2-8, 2022 - // no. 149
Local issues to worsen with war in Europe P8 Russia seeks to circumvent sanctions P9 Opinion: Supporting PREPA’s restructuring is the right thing to do P10
Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
www.theweeklyjournal.com
Can Puerto Rico reclaim its lead in pharmaceutical manufacturing?
The government and the private sector have been lobbying for incentives for this industry
A
Juan A. Hernández, The Weekly Journal
The muscle car: a vanishing breed P14
fter Section 936 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code was finally phased-out in 2006, Puerto Rico entered into a recession that has lasted until today. The American companies that had benefited from the tax exemption granted under Section 936 started to flee from the island –particularly pharmaceutical companies– in search for more “tax friendly jurisdictions” where to set shop.
When President Bill Clinton signed the repealing of Section 936 in 1996, it heralded the end of Puerto Rico’s manufacturing saga. What had been, arguably, an efficient tool to promote the economic development of the island, via a generous tax exemption since its inception in 1976, had lost its luster less than 20 years later and was perceived as a mechanism for big corporations to avoid paying taxes. During the time Section 936 was in place, Puerto Rico went from an international pharmaceutical GO TO PAGE 4
