By The Star Staff
The mainstream party candidates for governor, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón of the New Progressive Party (NPP) and Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz González of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), participated on Sunday in a forum hosted by the Community Pharmacies Association.
González Colón reiterated her opposition to the application of an inventory tax for prescription drugs.
She described the inventory tax as “a regressive, inefficient, unfair tax measure that affects the availability of merchandise, increases the cost of goods and is an obstacle to economic development.”
To eliminate the tax, the NPP candidate proposes to adopt the island Legislature’s proposal to freeze the inventory tax for a period of five years to explore alternatives to eliminate it, and appoint a committee to, within a period of six months, provide suggestions and recommendations for a real reform of the tax system that will be simpler, fairer and more transparent. Such a reform, González Colón said, should include, among other things:
* Fairer tax rates for individuals and corporations, including the possibility of replacing the “exemption decree” figure with preferential rates within the Internal Revenue Code for industries such as export, agriculture and others;
* A substitute for the inventory tax whose impact is not so regressive;
* The possibility of substantially decreasing or reducing the capital gains contribution for individuals and equating it to the beneficiaries of decrees under Law 60-2019, as amended.
The resident commissioner also said that as governor she would work immediately to exempt prescription drugs from the inventory tax.
“Prescription drugs do not pay VAT [value-added tax] and for the same reasons of public policy that they do not pay VAT, they should not be subject to any municipal contribution,” González Colón said. “No one takes a prescription drug for pleasure, they take it because it is a matter of life or death and, as a public policy, we must work to increase the conditions that provide for greater availability, greater accessibility and lower cost. And the inventory tax does the opposite.”
Ortiz González for his part highlighted the importance of guaranteeing decent and affordable access to medical services, recognizing the crucial role that community pharmacies play.
“In every place and in every visit I make, I have been able to feel the crisis of essential services that our people have. One of those important areas is access to quality, affordable, but, above all, dignified medical services,” he said. “Our people deserve a health system that serves them, not one that fails them.”
Ortiz González emphasized the dedication and effort of community pharmacies, especially in times of crisis such as hurricanes Irma and Maria, earthquakes and the pandemic.
The attorney also clearly established five priorities of his government regarding the pharmacy sector: he would not allow the opening of the pharmacy network to chains that are not local, he would establish a mechanism to increase the charge for dispensing without impacting what community pharmacies currently receive, he would guarantee that pharmacies are recognized as providers of essential services, he would strongly defend the regulation of pharmacy benefit manager, known as PBMs, and he would cancel the LUMA Energy contract that hinders the operation of pharmacies and life in general in Puerto Rico.
“My commitment to our local pharmacies is unwavering,” the PDP candidate said. “They were there when we needed them most, and it is our duty to protect them. These five points go directly to strengthening our community pharmacies, our local entrepreneurs and guaranteeing our people’s access to health services. As Governor, I am committed to the health and economic development of our people.”
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