[ad_1]
It calls for that Puerto Rico overhaul its training, tax and infrastructure sectors and entice extra buyers by strengthening its fragile energy grid and making it simpler to do enterprise on an island recognized for its clunky forms.
“There’s no time to waste,” Mujica stated at a press convention.
Lately, the U.S. authorities allotted greater than $120 billion to assist Puerto Rico offset the influence of the pandemic and pure disasters starting from earthquakes to main hurricanes. However Mujica famous these had been “one-time infusions that briefly boosted output” and fueled financial restoration.
The island’s actual GNP is declining, and financial progress is slowing as these funds evaporate, he added.
“These funds masks underlying, persistent weaknesses in Puerto Rico’s long run financial outlook,” he stated.
Excessive inflation — plus a shrinking and getting older inhabitants — even have contributed to the financial decline, the board famous.
Mujica stated that to assist enhance the island’s economic system, the board will meet with authorities officers, training leaders and nongovernment organizations to strengthen Puerto Rico’s training sector, which has lengthy been lagging.
The board’s fiscal plan additionally seeks a complete overview of Puerto Rico’s tax system regardless of latest enhancements.
“Whereas a lot progress has been made, important reform remains to be required as a result of Puerto Rico’s present tax system has traditionally suffered from complexity, instability and inconsistency,” the board stated in a press release.
The concentrate on financial progress comes after the board oversaw a bankruptcy-like process during which Puerto Rico’s debt dropped to $34 billion from greater than $70 billion, an quantity the government had said in 2015 that it could not pay. Two years later, it filed for the largest U.S. municipal chapter in historical past.
“That took all of the oxygen of the room,” Mujica stated, including that the board is now concentrating on fiscal well being and financial progress.
The board, which was created by U.S. Congress in 2016, will proceed overseeing Puerto Rico’s funds till the U.S. territory approves 4 consecutive balanced budgets.
Mujica stated it’s unclear if the primary one has been permitted as a result of the federal government has but to submit audited monetary statements.
[ad_2]
