Walmart demand the government of Puerto Rico
The multinational has to file a legal complaint against the Secretary of the Treasury by the changes in its tax structure resulted Law 72
The Walmart Puerto Rico, Inc. corporation filed today in federal court in San Juan a legal action against the Finance Minister Juan Zaragoza, which challenges Law 72 which changed the taxation of purchases between the parent company and its office Puerto Rico (“transfer pricing”) and wants the court to order the suspension of the statute.
Legal recourse, 36 pages, notes, inter alia, that Law 72 violates the interstate commerce clause, the equal protection clause and the Federal Relations Act.
Walmart claiming that the statute affects its operation in Puerto Rico, it increases the tax payable for purchases made between companies outside Puerto Rico, from 2% to 6.5%, which according to the company, resulting in an effective tax rate estimated 91.5%. This fee, claims the corporation, is considered the highest paying any company on the island and the highest paying Walmart anywhere in the world where it operates.
“We are challenging Law 72 because it is unconstitutional and arbitrarily penalizes Walmart by imposing an estimated 91.5% effective tax rate, which we believe is the highest rate for any company on the island and is the highest rate in any other place where Walmart operates world, “said Lorenzo Lopez, a spokesman for the company in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The lawsuit claims that Law 72 violates specifically Walmart. “This dramatic and unique impact on Walmart Puerto Rico is not an accident. As was widely reported at the time of adoption of Law 72, the new tax applies specifically to the megastores that have business relationship with his other companies in the nation, understood Walmart Puerto Rico and (very few) others, “reads part of the document legal.
The company states that could not sustain their operations for a long time on the island if the statute prevails and should reconsider their stay if they had to pay the “confiscatory tax” of 91.5%, as that would be “devastating” for operation.
Lopez said that although the corporation recognizes that the economy of Puerto Rico faces difficult times and we have to make sacrifices, “we are part of the solution and should not be punished for being a private company that generates more jobs on the island and one of the largest contributors to its economy. ”
“Instead of transferring the increase in contributions to our customers in Puerto Rico, many of which are under intense economic pressure to provide for their families, we have chosen to defend the jobs that we have created families that depend on them to bring this matter to the Federal Court, “said Lopez.
Walmart Puerto Rico Inc. operates 55 stores on the island, including Walmart Supercenters, regular Walmart, Sam’s Club, Super Savings and Supermercados Amigo. It employs nearly 15,000 people and collected nearly $ 100 million in the Sales and Use Tax (SUT).
