The 20/22 Act Society Responds to Article in GQ Magazine Regarding Puerto Rico and the "Super Rich"

DORADO, Puerto Rico, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Recently, GQ Magazine released an article two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria (which devastated the island with more than $90 Billion dollars in damage) that highlights the tax acts (specifically Acts 20 and 22), and how Puerto Rico became a tax haven for the "Super Rich". While almost all the facts in the article were accurate (minus federal tax sourcing regulations and the fact that recipients pay full tax on salaries earned in Puerto Rico and anyone can apply for Act 20 benefits), they were mostly presented in a disappointing and misleading way. Moreover, it was unfortunate to see how the facts that did not support the article's controversial angle were glossed over or omitted entirely from the article. The 20/22 Act Society as the epicenter organization for recipients of economic incentives by the government of Puerto Rico, feel it is important to clarify and prevent the perpetuation of inaccurate stereotypes of the "Super Rich".

The article's author was invited and given full access to our annual Cocktails and Compliance event last May, to see how The 20/22 Act Society was trying to ensure compliance for members and general recipients with local and federal tax rules. The author was also allowed to interview about 30 members and non-members (with their consent), for insights into the growing local expat community that has been built around the tax acts. The author chose to quote the most inflammatory remarks primarily for purposes of inciting outrage from the community and encouraging readership to support a negative view of the "Super Rich", whose recipients and the Society have been fighting from the inception of the acts.

The article highlighted insignificant facts such as a member's tax deduction for jets. It chose not to mention that the same jet was used to ferry indigent care patients off the island and bring back supplies. Nor did it highlighted the fact that hundreds of non 20/22 Puerto Rican citizens were flown off the island in privately chartered 737's when all commercial flights ceased to assist those with the most acute needs. It chose to highlight the thousands of dollars spent by someone at a pool club on drinks, but not the more than one million dollars raised in a week for over a dozen local charities right after Hurricane Maria hit. It was not highlighted that more than one billion dollars of direct investment has been made on the island since these acts were created. Nor it highlighted the thirteen relief missions led by Society members immediately after hurricane Maria hit, where food and water was delivered to towns that included Barranquitas, Ciales, Morovis, Naranjito, Lares, Aguada, Yabucoa, and Humacao, which had not even been visited by FEMA at that time. In addition to the flights and direct relief work highlighted above, Society members and recipients provided an additional five private flights for seriously ill individuals and cancer patients, including their family members, to receive critical treatment off of the island, as well as the rescue of hundreds of abandoned animals, some of which were left in homes without access to food or water.

The article chose to minimize the 12,000 direct jobs created by the acts as paltry which is on average more than 8 persons for every grantee, and not highlighted the fact that none of those jobs created were gardeners or drivers for the rich, as it alluded to, but rather the thousands of high-paying professional jobs created mainly in the financial service sector.

It has never been an objective of the Society to highlight its philanthropic efforts and contributions by its members to Puerto Rico. Yet by not doing so, this has allowed stereotypes such as the ones in the GQ article to continue and further animosity against grant recipients to go unabated. Members of the 20/22 Act Society through its foundation provided direct contribution and supported critical relief missions to local charities whose operations were disrupted because of the hurricane. Charities such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico, Centros Sor Isolina Ferre, Fondos Unidos, Hogar La Piedad, Hogar Mis Primeros Pasos, P.E.C.E.S., Albergue Los Peregrinos, and Kinesis Foundation were a few of those entities supported. The funding provided by the 20/22 Act Foundation was also used by these entities to provide food, water, generators, and medical care to nearby communities. Some of these charities would not have been able to continue to operate without our support.

Most residents only see the stereotype that is perpetuated in articles like the one in GQ, and see no benefit to themselves or to our island. Members last week were instrumental in getting House Bill 1645 approved by both the House and Senate, and it's waiting to be signed into law by Governor Rossello. This law, was created and introduced to help the people of Puerto Rico, and will hold accountable those insurance companies who still have ignored approximately 17,000 claims that were improperly denied. Instead of negotiating claims in good faith, they chose to let a year pass to take advantage of a law that allows insurers to deny the claims of those households that haven't sued them within such time frame. Without the 20/22 act members and recipients involvement, these and other laws to help support Puerto Rico and protect its citizens, would likely not have happened.

At the end of the GQ article, grant recipients were compared to the invasive species of the Iguana. A non-native species introduced that has taken over, growing unchecked and now encouraged by the government for meat consumption to curb its population. Such a comparison is offensive to members of the 20/22 Act Society and recipients in general and will not be tolerated.

For further information please contact:

PR Contact
Enid Concepcion
Executive Director
The 20/22 Act Society
http://www.the2022actsociety.org
787-626-6500

SOURCE The 20/22 Act Society