Its eventful, even without the GOP horrorshow in the WH

[rubato]

Forbes, not the most reliable source, thinks the IC tax rate is only 4% with zero tax on dividends and a maximum 5% on long term capital gains.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood ... 5ac7806397

If you can really move yourself and/or your business, you may be able to cut your income taxes down to almost nothing. You have to be careful, though. The interaction between the IRS and taxman in Puerto Rico is nuanced, requiring some Puerto Ricans to file with the IRS, some with the Puerto Rico Department of Finance, and some with both. But there are great incentives by which Puerto Rico hopes to lure American mainlanders there.

The incentives include an income tax in Puerto Rico of only 4%. Compare that to your combined federal and state income tax burden you may pay now! Legally avoid the 39.6% federal rate and the 13.3% California (or other state) rate? That sounds pretty good.

yrs,
rubato

[Long Run]

As a non-citizen (green card holder) several of my acquaintances believed that I was exempt from federal tax. These were educated people and of course I put them right. But I wonder how common that misconception is.

There is a cottage industry creating cockamamie reasons why people do not owe taxes, and plenty of buyers.

[liberty]

[quote="ex-khobar Andy"]

or this



That is pretty clever, is it your own work.

[ex-khobar Andy]

No, not my own designs. Mea culpa, I should have posted the link. I can't find it looking back through my history, but I think I started here: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/do_t ... stars.html. This guy has worked out an algorithm for any number of stars up to 76 based on the sort of designs which have been used over the last 200 years as more states were added to the total. There is a link in that article http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagfact.html to all the official flags such as the 29 star flag which is my favorite.

[liberty]

If they do vote for statehood that does not mean they automatically get it; the next step would be for Congress to grant statehood by a majority vote. And hopefully there would be long debate; this is a big change with possible negative consequences . Should they get statehood? Puerto Rico is different than other territories; I know of no other territory that carried on an insurgency against he US for independence. What if they should gain statehood and the then later decide they want independence; what do we do then, sent troops to kill Puerto Ricans?

[rubato]

As a non-citizen (green card holder) several of my acquaintances believed that I was exempt from federal tax. These were educated people and of course I put them right. But I wonder how common that misconception is.

There is a cottage industry creating cockamamie reasons why people do not owe taxes, and plenty of buyers.

Wesley Snipes, for one.

[liberty]

Two additional vote for the left in the senate would not good for the expressed wishes of the American people. The left is more interested a totally pristine environment than good paying blue collar jobs.

[Big RR]

Liberty--You really think the PR vote would trend left? Puerto Ricans generally have a strong family value and socially conservative views more in line with the republicans than democrats. And, as their current situation has shown, they are more in favor of bloating defiticits than raising taxes--another hallmark of many on the right. I don't think any senators would necessarily be "on the left".

As for the Independence movement, it is extremely small in PR, only a few percent of the electorate vote with the independence party in the plebiscites. Further, as I recall, Oklahoma had a pretty strong anti-statehood movement (which bubbled over into violence occasionally), ad did Hawaii and, I think, Alaska. Many in Texas also wanted to remain an independent republic rather than become a state (and there were many skirmishes). And in all these cases, the independence movement comprised more than a few percent of the population (and let's not forget Texas even seceded to join the CSA). I seriously doubt PR, if it became a state, would seek to leave the Union; but if they did, I would tell them "good riddance" (of course I would have told that to the seceding states in 1860 as well, and think what a great country this might be without them ).

[Burning Petard]

One of the traditional important points when congress is considering including an entity as a 'state' within the USofA is economic viability. This was a major hold-up for Alaska for many years. The question was always asked by those experts in the halls of congress,can a state government support itself on a tax base based on grizzly bear hunting and seal skins? Oil made that question moot.

Puerto Rico has long depended on special tax provisions for businesses. My last employer before I retired long operated a specialty chemical packaging plant there which had moved from Florida, to take advantage of such things. But that is a race to the bottom and it was shut down and the function carried out in Ireland which offered even better tax breaks.

Puerto Rico is in bad shape financially. Not much optimism about its economic future, either as an independent sovereignty, or status quo. And not much political leverage to get congress to grant statehood.

snailgate

[oldr_n_wsr]

You would think Puerto Rico would have much more of a tourism trade than it seems to have. When someone talks of going to the carribean, PR is rarely mentioned.

[Big RR]

I tried to find it on you tube (it's available on Hulu but you have to sign up) on Emily Litella--why would we want to make Puerto Rico a steak? I don't even think those people like meat...

[Bicycle Bill]

You would think Puerto Rico would have much more of a tourism trade than it seems to have. When someone talks of going to the carribean, PR is rarely mentioned.

People want to go to someplace foreign, someplace different, someplace exotic.  Someplace like Bermuda, Jamaica, the Bahamas, or even Cuba.
If you want to go to an island where you don't even have to change your money or worry about how much the cellphone roaming charges will be, you might as well go to Hawaii or the US Virgins.

-"BB"-

[oldr_n_wsr]

PR just needs a good PR firm.
and maybe some high end hotel/casino investors

[Big RR]

You would think Puerto Rico would have much more of a tourism trade than it seems to have. When someone talks of going to the carribean, PR is rarely mentioned.

My guess is because most of the tourism is in San Juan which is not on the Caribbean but the Atlantic (and they are tremendously expensive at that). The Caribbean beaches are a distance from San Juan (effectively the only major airport) and while some have offered transportation, the only way to otherwise get there is by rental car; many people do not want to drive in PR because (with a few exceptions) the roads are not that got and are populated by small town speed traps, all signs are in Spanish, and it can be difficult to find someone who speaks English (or admits it). Adding to that, unless you can use one of the freeways or major highways, driving time is considerable--even with them San Juan to Ponce is about 1.5 hours and Mayaguez is 2.5 hours. This has also led to the closing of some of the Caribbean resorts, and the ones that are left are not up to what US travelers expect. Many other Caribbean islands have done far more to attract the US tourist trade.

BB--Hawaii is a big tourist destination; the USVI seem to be an attraction because of their free port status (which PR does not have).

[Sue U]

You would think Puerto Rico would have much more of a tourism trade than it seems to have. When someone talks of going to the carribean, PR is rarely mentioned.

From a quick googling, figures vary depending on the website, but Puerto Rico attracts between 3.5 and 4.5 million tourists a year (Wikipedia puts it at "4.2 million visitors in 2013 and 4 million visitors in 2011, a notable increase over 2010 at 3.68 million").

PR attracts more visitors than Jamaica (3.5 million in 2014) but not as many as the Bahamas (5-6 million), although much of that appears to be day cruises. The Caribbean flavor-of-the-decade has been the Dominican Republic, with about 5.1 million tourists a year, although Cuba has made strong gains (now about 3 million/year) and can probably expect more since the American market has begun opening up.

All Caribbean destinations have pluses and minuses, it depends on what you're looking for in your travel. It seems to me that the DR is grabbing market share because it is significantly cheaper than competing spots, both for airfare and accommodations. (I have always preferred Jamaica myself, but probably because of familiarity more than anything else at this point.)

Went to Hawaii once, would not go again. Too far, too expensive.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Caribbean flavor-of-the-decade has been the Dominican Republic,

We're going there next year. A bunch of us (friends since high school) are all turning 60y in 2018 so we all booked a trip to Punta Cana (I think that's it).
They even have paint ball there.
Be veeeewwwwwy quiet. I'm huntin' wabbits.

[Big RR]

Sue--I've been to Hawaii a number of times and while it is not cheap, I find it good value for the money. Indeed, I find it the one of the friendliest/most welcoming places to visit--the only place in the Caribbean (and I've been to many) that approaches it is Aruba. I find a lot of the Caribbean islands are fine as long as you stay in the resort, but many people living there are not particularly nice to visitors. While I understand it given the behavior of some tourists, I have found that Hawaiians and Arubans recognize that tourists are an essential part of their economy and treat tourists well (from friends who have lived in Hawaii, this is not the reception people moving there permanently will receive.

[Guinevere]

Lots of people here go to PR and love it. I'm so looking forward to my first trip. We will be centered in San Juan, and staying to the Atlantic side (not so worried about driving, I drive in Boston ). I'm already thinking I'll be heading to Rincon or Vieques, next.

[Sue U]

Sue--I've been to Hawaii a number of times and while it is not cheap, I find it good value for the money. Indeed, I find it the one of the friendliest/most welcoming places to visit--the only place in the Caribbean (and I've been to many) that approaches it is Aruba. I find a lot of the Caribbean islands are fine as long as you stay in the resort, but many people living there are not particularly nice to visitors.

I'm not slagging Hawaii itself --I kinda like the weird kitschiness of Oahu; my sisters- and brothers-in-law go there regularly, but they're West Coasters so the travel is not as much of a hassle or expense. But if I can get to Tropical Island Paradise in one 3.5 hour flight (with the time change, 2.5 hrs), why would I spend more than twice as much for 15 hours of travel just to get somewhere that my Yanqui dollar doesn't go nearly as far? I can leave Philadelphia at 8 a.m. and be sitting on a beach in Ocho Rios with a drink in my hand by lunch time. I have never had anything but pleasant experiences in the Caribbean, and I don't stay at the all-inclusive resort properties (Sandals, etc.), either.

[Big RR]

Guin--Puerto Rico is a fine place to visit, and San Juan is convenient to many of the best known attractions including El Yunque (the rain forest with some nice hiking) and Luquillo Beach (one of the nicest public beaches on the island); tours and transportation are avaialable. I raised the points above only to point out that staying in San Juan is not the same as staying in a big resort right on the beach--you're staying in a city and you should be prepared for it. It is not like staying in a all-inclusive resort in Jamaica or a resort-only area in some of the other islands; it's like a more urban Miami Beach. And it is the Atlantic ocean so the water is a bit rougher. Keeping that in mind, you should have a good time.

Rincon and Vieques are nice as well, just do your homework to see what amenities are available where you are staying. FWIW, the Rincon area is on of my favorite in PR--it's about an hour from where most of my wife's family lives, and it has a number of decent restaurants (not all that common outside of San Juan). Vieques is fun too. And the absolute best attraction I found in PR is a resort town called La Parguera which has boat trips to a Phosphorescent bay (containing millions of fluorescent microorganisms that flash when disturbed. On a moonless night you can see the trails of the fish in the water. A bit far to go from San Juan (probably near a 3 hour drive each way), but worth the trip if you're in Rincon.

sue--no argument there--the travel time to Hawaii from the east coast is a serious drawback. But I do like it when I get there.

As for Caribbean experiences, my biggest problems are with vendors (especially street vendors) who are as aggressive as any panhandlers I've ever seen (e.g., in Grenada a lady followed me screaming and cursing for blocks because I didn't want to buy what she offered) or people being generally nasty (much like in NYC). Sure, there are nice people everywhere, but in some areas they are less prevalent than in others.