George LeMieux's bid to upend the way rum taxes are distributed in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands may not get very far.
The proposal -- which has been ripped by the government of the Virgin Islands and the National Black Chamber of Commerce -- is not on the list of amendments to a jobs bill that the Senate is expected to take up this week.
The Florida Republican told the Miami Herald editorial board that he believes the two US terrorities -- who are waging an expensive fight over rum distilleries -- "should to get in a room together and figure it out."
But he's siding with Puerto Rico in the fight. "The Virgin Islands figured out if they took the money they got and used it to get more folks to produce rum in their country, that they would get a bigger piece of the pie, to the detriment of Puerto Rico. I don't blame them for it, but they're gaming the system in my mind.
"We shouldn't have two terrorities of the U.S. taking tax dollars and gaming them against each other," he said.
Comments