Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Francisco Pares Alisea announced that the net income of the General Fund for March 2023 reached the figure of 1063.4 million dollarsexceeding the estimated forecast for March by $15.3 million or 1.5% more.

Collections during the first nine months of this fiscal year fluctuated relative to collection results in fiscal 2022. However, for the combined period through March, this year’s revenue still exceeds last year’s revenue by $187 million, or 2.3 percent.

These fluctuations were said to be largely due to two factors, the first being the passage of Hurricane Fiona over the island in September, which meant that certain tax payments for the month of October were delayed until December. This contraction led to stronger growth in December, which offset the losses seen in October.

The second factor is the voluntary transition of multinational companies from the discretion of Law 154-2010.[1] to Law 52-2022. This transition began in February and affects three tax lines. These are: (1) the alien tax under Act 154, (2) the corporate income tax, and (3) the non-resident withholding tax. This is so given that Act 52 or the “new regime” offers these companies, by amending their decrees, a new legal framework based on contributions to profits and withholding of income for non-residents.

“If we compare the total amount collected through March through corporations and withheld from non-residents, the amount contributed to the General Fund under these two items exceeds the amount received to date by $398.9 million. The amount of excess earned in corporations and withheld from non-residents exceeds the loss of $391.8 million, resulting in foregone foreign tax revenue,” the minister said in written statements.