News
Chamber in the News
Presidency: Margaret Ramírez -Báez, Esq.
2025-2026
You will be able to access news from the country’s media related to the PRCC and its efforts on behalf of the business community.
OCTOBER
Direct and Unfiltered: Who Sets Prices — the Market or the Business?
Rolando López, President of the Chamber of Commerce’s Tax Affairs Committee, explains how inflation and rising costs have led many businesses to make necessary adjustments in order to survive. Hear his perspective.
Chamber of Commerce Raises Concern Over the Impact of Rising Bankruptcies in Puerto Rico
Political analyst Jay Fonseca spoke with the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Margaret Ramírez Báez, who warned that the constant increases in basic services have directly affected both businesses and families in Puerto Rico.
Chamber of Commerce and Department of Education Join Forces to Integrate Financial Education into Public Schools
- Cámara de Comercio y Educación apuestan por transformar el currículo escolar en Puerto Rico – Revista Seguros, 26 de septiembre
- Luz mas cara del año provoca reclamos de multiples sectores – Metro, 2 de octubre
- Cámara de Comercio y Educación unen esfuerzos para integrar la enseñanza financiera en las escuelas públicas – WIPR, 28 de septiembre de 2025
- Cámara de Comercio y Educación unen esfuerzos para integrar la enseñanza financiera en las escuelas públicas – Isla News PR, 28 de septiembre de 2025
SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
Trade Agreements: Engine of Growth, but Risks for Vulnerable Sectors
August 25, 2025 | El Vocero
Although trade treaties foster investment and market access, they also threaten the sustainability of small producers and increase inequality.
OPINION: The Urgency of Eliminating the Inventory Tax
August 25, 2025 | El Nuevo Día
Each hurricane season brings us uncertainty.
It also brings a deep fear of shortages of essential products. The inventory tax is the culprit behind that fear. This is a vulnerability that has nothing to do with a natural phenomenon but rather with a legislative decision.This tax, which ranges between 8% and 10%, places an excessive burden on businesses.
Companies must pay it even when they operate at a loss, and often due to products that, by nature, have low inventory turnover.
The Urgency of Eliminating the Inventory Tax
Each hurricane season brings us uncertainty.
It also brings a deep fear of shortages of essential products. The inventory tax is the culprit behind that fear. This is a vulnerability that has nothing to do with a natural phenomenon but rather with a legislative decision.
This tax, which ranges between 8% and 10%, places an excessive burden on businesses. Companies must pay it even when they operate at a loss, and often due to products that, by nature, have low inventory turnover.
The consequences are clear. The tax forces local merchants to maintain low inventory levels and encourages consumers to shop online. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s competitiveness continues to decline as local investment and response capacity are discouraged.
Eliminating the tax is not an easy task, as it represents approximately $250 million in annual municipal revenue. However, there are alternatives that could make its elimination possible, such as reallocating revenue from the Sales and Use Tax (IVU) on online sales, which currently generates over $200 million annually. Another option is restructuring municipal functions to increase efficiency, as demonstrated by studies commissioned by the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants.
What we cannot accept are “patches” that continue to foster uncertainty on the island. Exempting only certain products or freezing inventory levels—as proposed in House Bill 420—does not address the root of the issue.
Even worse, recent amendments introduced in the Senate represent a step backward disguised as relief. Proposing to collect the tax at the time of sale would only turn it into a bloated sales tax.
As a centennial business organization, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce has led this call for years. The organization has consistently advocated for a permanent, fair, responsible, and urgent solution. Puerto Rico can no longer penalize businesses for maintaining inventory or place consumers at risk during emergencies.
It also cannot continue encouraging purchases from online-only retailers at the expense of businesses with a physical presence on the island—businesses that ultimately support the local economy.
As our legislature resumes work this week, the question is whether they will have the courage to pass a meaningful reform that strengthens both businesses and consumers—or if they will once again choose to prolong the uncertainty.
The time to act is now.
Veto of Senate Bill 615 Following Request by the Chamber of Commerce
August 2, 2025 | Telemundo
The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce (CCPR) had requested last Friday that Governor Jenniffer González veto Senate Bill 615, arguing that it would impose a tax on telecommunications.
JULY
2025 Swearing In
- Nueva presidenta y Junta Directiva en la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – Magazine PR, 30 de julio de 2025
- Traza su agenda nueva presidenta de la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – El Vocero, 30 de julio de 2025
- Nueva presidenta y Junta Directiva en la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – El Vocero, 29 de julio de 2025
- Juramenta nueva presidenta de la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – Metro, 29 de julio de 2025
- Juramenta nueva presidenta de la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – Cyber News, 29 de julio de 2025
- Nueva presidenta y Junta Directiva en la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico – Foro Noticioso, 29 de julio de 2025
- Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico celebrará Toma de Posesión de la Lcda. Margaret Ramírez Báez como nueva presidenta del gremio empresarial – La Voz Digital PR, 25 de julio de 2025
- Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico celebrará Toma de Posesión de la Lcda. Margaret Ramírez Báez como nueva presidenta del gremio empresarial – Puerto Rico Posts, 24 de julio de 2025
- Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico celebrará Toma de Posesión de la Lcda. Margaret Ramírez Báez como nueva presidenta del gremio empresarial – Foro Noticioso, 24 de julio de 2025
- Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico celebrará toma de posesión de la Lcda. Margaret Ramírez Báez – Magazine PR, 24 de julio de 2025
Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce Advocates for Fiscal Board Task Force Focused on Energy Crisis
July 15, 2025 | El Nuevo Día
The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce called for the creation of an energy-focused task force within the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF), “with clear authority to drive accountability, enforce deadlines, and align all stakeholders—both federal and local—toward measurable outcomes.”
Proposed Increases in Electricity Rates Will Impact the Cost of Doing Business in Puerto Rico
July 8, 2025 | Metro
The electricity rate increases proposed by LUMA Energy and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) will raise the cost of doing business on the island, according to Margaret Ramírez Báez, President of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce. She also stated that pension and debt-related obligations should be covered by government funds—not through the electricity bill.
Margaret Ramírez: A Leader in the Business and Legal World
July 2025 | Negocios con Café
Interview to Margaret Ramírez