Puerto Ricans paid over $32 million annually in taxes resulting from an added surcharge in the purchase of fuel by the local electrical company.
     That surcharge accounts for nearly 5 percent of the individual electrical bill.
     Help appears to be on the way as the House of Representatives looks for ways to roll back the tax and eliminate it from the island’s collection structure.
     But getting the tax eliminated won’t be easy because those millions of dollars collected are one of the main sources of capital to pay off the island’s debt.
     Most of the taxes collected are allocated to the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Highway Authority which used the money to pay their bond debts.
     According to a 1994 modification of the Tax Code, the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority must pay a tax on the imported fuel, including petroleum derivates such as diesel, they implement in the generation of electricity.
     PREPA has two categories of diesel fuel.
     Category 2 is a more refined product than the other, Category 6.
     Annually, PREPA spends $400 million to buy Category 2 fuel and $1.6 billion for Category 6.
     The law -- which has been modified several times over 15 years -- stated that the surcharge would be passed on to the government departments, agencies, municipalities and public corporations as well as the private citizens and companies.
     Much of the money coming from the tax is already allocated to government debt, specifically Governmental Development Bank bond credit lines.
     Currently, the House Consumer Affairs Committee is hearing arguments for the derogation of the tax, which on the average costs the public $0.8 a gallon.
     The amount is divided equally between both offices.
     For years, PREPA has wanted to eliminate the added tax, but has faced opposition from the government, which used the tax to pay for public works.
     “We approve the measure on the basis that it would give the consumers a direct and immediate discount on their monthly tariffs,” said Juan Ortiz, of the PREPA legal division.
     Data provided by PREPA shows that the corporation purchases their entire diesel reserve at a weekly cost of $300 million.
     Popular Democratic Party lawmaker Víctor Vassallo argues that most of the taxes can’t be removed because they are already assigned.
     “Those taxes, more specifically the one for diesel 6 products, are already assigned to paid bond debt. Those from Category 2 can be reviewed, with certain constraints,” Vassallo said.