(H. B. 4822) (No. 131) (Approved June 1, 2004) AN ACT To amend the Title, Section (1), Section (3), Section (5), Section (6), Section (7), Section (14) and Section (15) of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, in order to extend its effectiveness, and add a paragraph to Section (7) to clarify a norm. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO: Section 1.- The Title of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004 is hereby To establish an incentive plan from March 1 to June 30, 2004, for the payment of personal property tax debt; to establish exceptions; to grant every taxpayer who from March 1 to April 30, 2004, fully pays the total amount of real property taxes owed to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and to the municipalities as of the effective date of this Act, a tax relief through waiving certain accrued interests, penalties and surcharges to be accrued on the abovementioned taxes; create a special fund; direct the Municipal Revenues Collection Center (CRIM, Spanish acronym), to eliminate the debts from its book require the filing of a report to the Legislature; exempt the CRIM from complying with the requirements of the Electoral Act until June 30, 2004, and to empower the Municipal Revenues Collection Center to adopt the necessary regulations for the administration of this Act.
Section 2.- Section 1 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 1.- Granting of Incentive Every taxpayer, or any person acting in his/her behalf, who pays the property tax owed to the Center within the term provided in this Act, shall be entitled to a discount on the total amount owed as established in Section 2. For the purposes of this discount, the total amount owed includes the principal as well as interest, surcharges and penalties imposed with regard to the same computed until to June 30, 2004. Every taxpayer, or any person who in his/her behalf, attempts to pay on or before June 30, 2004, and cannot avail themselves of the benefits of this Incentives Plan due to the inability of the Municipal Revenues Collection Center to furnish a statement of account showing the debt as it appears on the books of the CRIM, may avail themselves thereof once the information is furnished under the same parameters that apply in this Act. Section 3.- Section 3 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004 is hereby Section 3.- Term to be Availed of the Incentive Except as provided in Section 4, the incentive for the payment of the tax debt that is granted in this Act shall be in effect until June 30, 2004. Section 4.- Subsection (4) of Section 5 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 5.- Conditions and Limitations The incentive granted in this Act is subject to the following conditions and limitations: (1) (2)
(3) (4) After having received the notice regarding the personal and real property taxes owed, the taxpayer shall have the right to object to the same, except for the challenging of securities, exonerations and exemptions, provided the claim is filed within the term of this Act. In those cases in which the Municipal Revenues Collection Center determines that collection of the challenged tax proceeds and it is determined that the objection had the intention of benefiting of the provisions set forth in this Act by means of fraud or forgery, the provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to the taxpayer who objected them. In order to be entitled to the extension of term, the taxpayers who object to the debts must pay those not objected to within the term established. (5) (6) Section 5.- Section 6 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 6.- Elimination of Interest and Surcharges on Real Property Every taxpayer who, from March 1 to June 30, 2004, pays the taxes owed on one or more real properties by him/her to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and to the municipalities on the effective date of this Act, is hereby relieved from the payment of all interests and surcharges accrued on the taxes thus paid and up to the date of the payment thereof, with the exception of such interest and surcharges accrued in cases of fraud, those debts pertaining to fiscal year 2003-04, and previous years whose debts have been notified after June 30, 2003.
Taxpayers against whom a criminal procedure for a tax related crime has been initiated and is pending, shall not be able to avail themselves of the benefit granted by this Act. Nor shall those taxpayers whose noncompliance entails the intent to commit fraud or who have been convicted for the crime of tax fraud, may avail themselves of the benefit of this Act. Every taxpayer whose debts have been sold under the provisions of Act No. 21 of June 26, 1997, as amended, known as the Sale of Tax Debts Act, who on or before June 31, 2004, pays the taxes he/she owes on one or more real properties, shall be released from the payment of five (5) percent of the costs of managing the transaction imposed by Act No. 21, as well as the interest and surcharges accrued after the date of the sale of said debts. The Director of the Center shall be bound to issue, on or before sixty (60) days after the payment is made, a negative certificate of debt pursuant to the provisions of this Act. Likewise, he/she shall be bound to eliminate the debt paid pursuant to this Act, from every data-filing systems. Section 6.- Section 7 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 7.- Elimination of Debts The Municipal Revenues Collection Center shall eliminate from its books those debts on which collection efforts have not been made, as follows: Personal Property Debts - of more than ten (10) years counted from the filing date of the personal property tax return. Real Property Debts - of more than fifteen (15) years from the date of filing the notice of the tax.
No real property tax whatsoever shall be imposed, charged, computed or purchased on inexisting structures, nor from the time of their destruction for those that having existed, have been destroyed by natural causes or demolition. This provision shall remain in effect even after the term to be availed of the benefits of this Act has expired. After June 30, 2004, the Municipal Revenues Collection Center shall not issue Debt Certifications that include those debts eliminated pursuant to the above paragraphs. Any debt on which collection efforts have been made, or that is under a Court proceeding, may be settled by agreement of both parties. Section 7.- Section (14) of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 14.- Compliance with the Electoral Act The Municipal Revenues Collection Center is hereby exempted from compliance of the requirements of this Electoral Act during the term of approval of the Act and until June 30, 2004. Section 8.- Section 15 of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, is hereby Section 15.- Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval to the effect of commencing the necessary design and coordination for its implementation, and on March 1, 2004, until June 30, 2004, or up to thirty (30) days after the Collection Center makes its findings whether in favor of, or against the amount or amounts objected in whole or in part, of the taxpayer with regard to the debts objected pursuant to Section 5 of this Act. Section 9.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 131 (H.B. 4822) of the 7 th Session of the 14 th Legislature of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to amend the Title, Section (1), Section (3), Section (5), Section (6), Section (7), Section (14) and Section (15) of Act No. 74 of March 1, 2004, in order to extend its effectiveness, and add a paragraph to Section (7) to clarify a norm, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 2nd of June of 2005. Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director