Taxes
Tax Breaks for Crypto Millionaires Stir Outrage in Puerto Rico
- Incentives are creating fears that residents will be displaced
- Island plans review as it emerges from historic bankruptcy
Pedestrians walk through the Old San Juan neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Photographer: Xavier Garcia/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Over the past two years, every building but one that Margarita Gandia’s real-estate agency sold in Old San Juan went to a U.S. mainlander or a foreign buyer. Every purchaser cited Puerto Rico’s generous tax breaks as the reason for the move.
The influx of outside wealth to Puerto Rico -- particularly those who count their riches in Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies -- has hit an all time high. So has frustration with a tax system that many locals say is inflating a real-estate bubble that’s making island life untenable.