Friday, December 18, 2015

Puerto Rico in Trouble

Wal-Mart Files Desperate Lawsuit Because of Absurd Tax

In the midst of the Holiday shopping season, retail giant, Wal-Mart is looking to squeeze out earnings anyway possible. Lately, things aren’t so rosy at Wal-Mart.

The push for higher wages has hurt their profit margins and caused them to put the hammer to suppliers. Now Wal-Mart is even going after broke, bankrupt countries:

Well don’t look now, but a beleaguered Wal-Mart is suing a beleaguered Puerto Rico after the latter’s attempt to lift government revenue by raising taxes pushed the company’s tax burden in the commonwealth to nearly 92% of net income.

As Bloomberg reports, “Puerto Rico’s Act 72-2015 increases to 6.5 percent from 2 percent the tax on goods imported from offshore affiliates to local companies with gross revenues of more than $2.75 billion.”

Wal-Mart “biggest private employer and hands over more sales tax to the island government than any other business,” Bloomberg continues, before noting that the company is “asking a federal judge to declare the new measure unconstitutional and block its enforcement.”

“The new levy raised the estimated cumulative income tax on Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc. to an astonishing and unsustainable 91.5% of its net income!”, the company exclaimed, in a complaint filed Friday in San Juan. Wow, 91.5% tax on corporate net income…

Bernie Sanders would love how Puerto Rico does business.


Comments

The cost of government in Puerto Rico is off the charts, so the government is raising taxes.  Wal-Mart will likely close their stores in Puerto Rico if they can’t claw back enough of this tax hike to stay in business.

Puerto Rico is in bad shape.  Their economy is way down, government costs too much and their unemployment is way up.  If they can replace the food by producing it locally, without Wal-Mart, that will work.  If not, the people will suffer.  They really need to cut all non-essential government spending.


Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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