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The Opinion Pages | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The True Cost of Hidden Money
A Piketty Protégé’s Theory on Tax Havens
By JACQUES LESLIEJUNE 15, 2014
COMMENT BY MIRIAM J RAMIREZ:

June 6, 2014

by Miriam Ramirez San Juan, Puerto Rico 10 hours ago

Puerto Rico a US Territory is the largest victim of Corporate Greed. 

Politicians in PR and the US, in alliance with interested sectors in the island, including corporate lobbyists, the local opposition parties, workers unions, local Banks, etc. have lobbied Congress to obtain tax exempt privileges for US Corporations who do business in Puerto Rico. 

They have pushed legislation that created IRS Codes to define PR as a foreign country to use for tax evasion purposes. This is a legal violation of the US Constitution Territorial Clause. 

PR is their top choice for corporate money laundering. Some people have been led to believe these corporate tax breaks are the only solution to our stagnant economy. 

However, these tax breaks have been around for over 60 years and we still continue with high unemployment and serious social problems which have escalated in high crime statistics, comparable to a war zone. It has also contributed to the economic debacle hitting the US taxpayer and workers, by taking jobs away from the US, increasing unemployment and then obtaining tax benefits to bring the money home under the false pretense of helping the US economy. 

Over the decades, this has not resulted in benefits for our island or our people. It has created a filthy rich governing elite class which has enjoyed these privileges, while the rest of the 3.5 millions of Puerto Ricans live under the US poverty standards and with an unemployment rate of over 18%.