The White House announced an $11.6 billion aid package to Puerto Rico on Sept. 18 to aid it in its recovery from Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island and its infrastructure in September 2017. The funds will be granted...more
Since late December 2019, a series of earthquakes and aftershocks have struck the southwest region of Puerto Rico, causing many structures to collapse or to sustain severe structural damage. Intermittent electrical service,...more
On May 17, 2019, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (“PR Treasury”) issued Internal Revenue Informative Bulletin No. 19-07, granting an additional extension until June 30, 2019 for employers to request the Federal...more
Commercial Property and Business Interruption insurance policies customarily include suit limitations clauses to protect the insurer against lawsuits. These clauses may be found buried amid general conditions in the property...more
The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the PR Treasury) issued Internal Revenue Informative Bulletin No. 19-01 extending the deadline to March 31, 2019, to request the Federal Employee Retention Benefit related to...more
Recent legislative and judicial developments in Puerto Rico may very well have revived thousands of claims that insurers believed to be time-barred, per the terms of the Suit Against Us provisions of their Policies. ...more
The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (“PR Treasury”) has issued Internal Revenue Informative Bulletin No. 19-01, extending until March 31, 2019 the deadline to request the Federal Employee Retention Benefit (“Benefit”)...more
Last year, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the “PR Treasury”) issued Administrative Determination Number 17-29 (“AD 17-29”) to provide rules and procedures for allowing distributions from an IRA or a Puerto Rico...more
Puerto Rico is still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Recently, the governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 115 of June 20, 2018, to promote recovery efforts and provide much-needed aid to affected...more
Guidance on the Federal Employee Retention Benefit for Certain Employers Affected by Hurricane Irma and María - New Regulation or Official Guidance - The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury issued Internal Revenue...more
The Governor of Puerto Rico recently signed into law Act No. 115, extending the list of authorized payroll deductions under Act 17-1931 (“Act 17”). As a general rule, deductions from non-exempt employees’ wages in Puerto Rico...more
In the nine months since Hurricane Maria, substantial progress has occurred in bringing Puerto Rico’s power grid back online. Some consumers with access to solar microgrid systems regained power as soon as a few days after...more
On September 29, 2018, the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport Extension Act of 2017, as amended (the “Act”), was adopted to, among other goals, provide tax relief to those affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Act includes...more
Act 20 and Act 22 in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria – The Contrarian’s Nirvana - Overview - By now every American is aware of the hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico. The PR’s 9/11 occurred on September 20, 2017....more
In the six months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, much progress has been made. Water service has been restored to 99% of the island and electricity to 93%. Of the total losses in the Caribbean from Maria,...more
SEC Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets - On March 7, 2018, the Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission released a "Statement on...more
In the mountains near Ponce, Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria tore through, the terrain made it difficult to repair power lines that stretched from peak to peak. For over four months, the entire area was in the dark and so...more
The massive public attention focused on the Jones Act in Puerto Rico immediately after Hurricane Maria was eerily analogous to the public spotlight on the law during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (the “Gulf Spill”) in the...more
The US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that the agencies will give favorable consideration under...more
On October 4, 2017, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the "PR Treasury") issued Administrative Determination No. 17-21 (AD 17-21) to exclude from gross income certain payments employers made to employees for...more
Charlotte Bankruptcy Member and Team Leader Zach Smith will be moderating a panel of Puerto Rico’s Bankruptcy Judges at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Caribbean Insolvency Symposium on February 1 in Miami, Florida....more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
As previously discussed, on October 4, 2017, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the “PR Treasury”) issued Administrative Determination No. 17-21 (“AD 17-21”) granting temporary income tax exemption for payments...more
The 2017 United States Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ended on November 30, was the most expensive ever according to one report. Disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson concluded that total damages for...more
On November 15, 2017, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the "PR Treasury") issued Administrative Determination Number 17-29 ("AD 17-29") to provide special rules and procedures applicable to distributions from...more