PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt underwent surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung sustained during a dry-needling session and will miss Monday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.

J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt’s older brother, posted on X that T.J. had the surgery Thursday.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after practice Friday that T.J. Watt was home resting comfortably but would be unavailable when the Steelers (7-6) hosts the surging Dolphins (6-7).

Asked if Watt could be out for an extended period, Tomlin said he hadn’t looked beyond this week.

Watt was hospitalized Wednesday after reporting what the club described as “discomfort” while being treated by Steelers medical staff at the team facility. J.J. Watt said T.J. was having a dry-needling session at the time.

Dry needling is a treatment used by physical therapists and acupuncturists to treat pain and movement issues, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The medical professionals insert needles under the skin to target trigger points in muscles.

Watt, 31, has been a fixture on the Steelers defense for nearly a decade. He was on the injury report last week with a toe problem, but that didn’t stop him from making his 56th straight regular-season start.

Tomlin said Thursday that Watt had not complained of any issues in his chest at any point this season. The coach added he had “no idea” about the details of Watt’s dry-needling session but added he was not in a position to “dispute something said by someone close to him.”

A seven-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt has seven sacks this season for the Steelers, who hold a one-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North with four weeks remaining.

The Steelers have struggled historically without Watt in the lineup, most notably in 2022 when they went 1-6 while he recovered from a pectoral injury.

Nick Herbig will start in place of Watt on Monday. Herbig has played exceptionally well at times during his third season. His 6½ sacks are a career-best and rank second on the team, trailing only Watt.

“I think that (T.J.’s) prepared not just myself but a bunch of the younger guys in that sense to be able to take on that larger role, not just as a player but as a leader, and bringing that energy and just doing everything that he does right,” Herbig said.

Longtime Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward spoke to Watt on Thursday. Heyward declined to get into the details of their conversation and said his concern is more on Watt’s health than how the team will deal with his absence.

“You never want to hear anything like that ever happen,” Heyward said. “But you know, more concerned with just how he’s doing on, you know, a friend level and as a brother.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/tj-watt-pittsburgh-steelers-lung-surgery/ 

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department asked an appeals court Friday to block a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March.

The department also is seeking Chief Judge James Boasberg’s removal from the case, accusing him of a “radical, retaliatory, unconstitutional campaign” against the Trump administration.

It marks a dramatic escalation in the Justice Department’s lengthy feud with the judge appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, setting the stage for a showdown over the judiciary’s power to serve as a check on an administration that has pushed the boundaries of court orders.

The department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rule on its requests before Monday, when Boasberg is scheduled to hear testimony from a former government attorney who filed a whistleblower complaint.

A three-judge panel from the appeals court agreed to temporarily suspend Boasberg’s contempt-related order. The panel, composed of two judges nominated by Trump and one nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, said its administrative stay isn’t a ruling on the merits of the government’s requests. But it casts some doubt on whether Monday’s hearing will proceed as planned.

Department officials claim Boasberg is biased and creating “a circus that threatens the separation of powers and the attorney-client privilege alike.”

“The forthcoming hearing has every appearance of an endless fishing expedition aimed at an ever-widening list of witnesses and prolonged testimony. That spectacle is not a genuine effort to uncover any relevant facts,” they wrote.

Boasberg has said that a recent ruling by the appeals court gave him the authority to proceed with the contempt inquiry. The judge is trying determine if there is sufficient evidence to refer the matter for prosecution.

Boasberg, who has been chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., since March 2023, has said the Trump administration may have “acted in bad faith” by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order blocking their deportations to El Salvador.

In an April 16 order, the judge said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”

“The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders — especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” Boasberg wrote.

The Trump administration has denied any violation, saying the judge’s March 15 directive to return the planes was made verbally in court but not included in his written order.

Trump called for impeaching Boasberg in March. In July, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration.

In a social media post Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Boasberg of engaging in “lawless judicial activism.”

“This radical, retaliatory, unconstitutional campaign against the Trump Administration will not stand,” Bondi wrote.

Boasberg has scheduled a hearing Monday for testimony by former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni, whose whistleblower complaint claims a top department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants.

The judge also scheduled a hearing Tuesday for testimony by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign. The Justice Department has said Ensign conveyed Boasberg’s March 15 oral order and a subsequent written order to the Department of Homeland Security.

“This long-running saga never should have begun; should not have continued at all after this Court’s last intervention; and certainly should not be allowed to escalate into the unseemly and unnecessary interbranch conflict that it now imminently portends,” department officials said in Friday’s court filing.

In a written declaration to the court, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she made the decision not to return the planes to the U.S. after receiving “privileged legal advice” from the Homeland Security Department’s acting general counsel and “through him from the senior leadership of the Department of Justice.”

Boasberg called Noem’s declaration “cursory” and said it doesn’t provide him with enough information to determine whether she willfully violated his March 15 order.

Boasberg on Friday refused to cancel or delay next week’s hearings.

“To begin, this inquiry is not some academic exercise,” he wrote. “Approximately 137 men were spirited out of this country without a hearing and placed in a high-security prison in El Salvador, where many suffered abuse and possible torture, despite this Court’s order that they should not be disembarked.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/justice-department-mass-deportation-case/ 

Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — El presidente de Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, recorrió el viernes el Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), la megacárcel de máxima seguridad que el mandatario Nayib Bukele ordenó construir para recluir a los pandilleros más peligrosos del país, un día después que ambos líderes centroamericanos acordaron cooperar en medidas para combatir el crimen organizado.

En el segundo día de visita oficial, Chaves recorrió los pabellones del CECOT donde están recluidos pandilleros, las celdas de aislamiento y los controles de seguridad que implementa el gobierno en la megaprisión. Escuchó las explicaciones que le hizo sobre el centro penal los ministros de Justicia y Seguridad, Gustavo Villatoro, y de la Defensa Nacional, vicealmirante Francis Merino Monrroy.

Le mostraron un pabellón en que estaban recluidos miembros de diferentes pandillas. “Uno de los cambios que hicimos fue que estuvieran juntos, pues son delincuentes, pero para hacer eso había que estar seguro de que se iba a tener control y si uno de ellos hace algo fuera del régimen que deben de tener, están las celdas de aislamiento”, explicó Merino Monrroy.

Chaves reiteró su reconocimiento por los “avances y resultados” que ha logrado el gobierno de Bukele con su estrategia de seguridad y combate a las pandillas.

El mandatario costarricense ha mostrado interés en replicar en su país parte de las estrategias de seguridad de Bukele en un intento de combatir la violencia y el aumento de los asesinatos atribuidos en buena parte al narcotráfico.

En abril envió a El Salvador al ministro de Paz y Justicia, Gerald Campos Valverde para conocer la política de mano dura aplicada por el gobierno de Bukele contra las pandillas, que según las autoridades salvadoreñas ha reducido al mínimo los índices de homicidios en un país que hace una década fue considerado el más peligroso del mundo.

Bukele ha impulsado un prolongado régimen de excepción que suspende derechos fundamentales en su guerra contra las pandillas, el cual ha sido criticado por organizaciones de derechos humanos.

“En Costa Rica valoramos profundamente nuestra institucionalidad y estado de derecho y la lección que El Salvador nos ofrece es que la firmeza contra las estructuras criminales debe ser una política de Estado prioritaria”, dijo Chaves.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/presidente-de-costa-rica-visita-megacrcel-salvadorea-tras-acuerdo-con-bukele-sobre-seguridad/ 

If you count ice cream creations among your must-have holiday treats, Elgin has a new shop to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The Creamery has opened at 1785 Larkin Ave., converting what had previously been Wienerville and a Checkers into the eighth location for Romeoville-based SK Creameries.

“While our roots are in the southwest suburbs, our long-term vision has always been to expand thoughtfully across Chicagoland,” said Leah Sisk, the company’s director of sales and marketing.

Brothers Jordan, left, and Brandon Sisk own eight Creamery locations, including the one that opened Dec. 2 at 1785 Larkin Ave. in Elgin. (SK Creameries/The Creamery)

In 2024, The Creamery established a residency with the Schaumburg Boomers minor league baseball team that proved to be a big hit, Sisk said.

“That experience made it clear there was a strong opportunity to serve families in this area more directly,” she said. “Elgin felt like a natural next step — a vibrant, growing community with the same local pride we value in our original hometowns.”

The first Creamery opened in 1981 in Frankfort and by 2010 had grown to seven locations. Sisk’s husband, Brandon, and his brother, Jordan, decided to purchase three of those stores — Homer Glen, New Lenox, and Manhattan — in 2015, and since then have added new locations in Lemont, Lombard, Sandwich and the Orland Square Mall in Orland Park.

They found the Elgin site last year. Renovations were completed in November, allowing them to open in the first week of December. The spot features a drive-thru, indoor seating, a walk-up window, and patio seating.

Sisk said their ice cream menu includes classic soft serve, sundaes, milkshakes, Blasters (soft serve ice cream blended with a choice of candy, cookies and other toppings) and a rotating menu of its signature Colossal shakes.

A staple on the menu at The Creamery is the “Birthday Bash Colossal,” which comes with birthday cake ice cream, sprinkles, a blue gummy goo sauce and a cupcake. (SK Creameries)

The one Colossal shake that’s always available is the Birthday Bash, which consists of birthday cake-flavored ice cream, marshmallow drizzle, sprinkles, blue gummy goo and a birthday cupcake.

They also have a lineup of hotdogs, burgers, sandwiches and sides.

Guests can place orders online for in-store pickup or use Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats for delivery, Sisk said.

The Creamery produces its ice cream, cakes and specialty desserts in Romeoville. Its catering fleet is based there, too, and serves a wide radius that includes Elgin.

Sisk said the ice cream business is one that brings people together in simple, meaningful moments — after a ballgame, on a warm summer night or for a family celebrations.

“We focus on creating an environment where people slow down, connect and create memories together,” she said. “It’s less about the product alone and more about the feeling of sharing something joyful with people you care about.”

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/creamery-elgin-ice-cream-sisk/ 

Por AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump indicó el viernes que los gobernantes de Tailandia y Camboya acordaron renovar una tregua, luego de días de enfrentamientos que amenazaban con echar por tierra un alto el fuego que Washington ayudó a negociar previamente este año.

Trump anunció el acuerdo para reiniciar el cese del fuego en una publicación en redes sociales, después de sostener llamadas con el primer ministro tailandés Anutin Charnvirakul y el primer ministro camboyano Hun Manet.

“Han acordado cesar todos los disparos a partir de esta noche y volver al acuerdo de paz original hecho conmigo, y con ellos, con la ayuda del gran primer ministro de Malasia, Anwar Ibrahim”, declaró Trump en Truth Social.

Funcionarios tailandeses y camboyanos no ofrecieron comentarios de momento tras el anuncio de Trump. Anutin —después de hablar con Trump, pero antes de que el presidente estadounidense hiciera su publicación en redes sociales— indicó que le reiteró a Trump que la posición de Tailandia es seguir luchando hasta que Camboya ya no represente una amenaza para su soberanía.

Trump expresó que Ibrahim desempeñó un papel importante, al ayudarlo a presionar a Tailandia y Camboya para que una vez más acordaran detener los combates.

“¡Es un honor para mí trabajar con Anutin y Hun en la resolución de lo que podría haber degenerado en una guerra de gran envergadura entre dos países que, por lo demás, son maravillosos y prósperos!”.

El alto el fuego original en julio fue negociado por Malasia y se logró concretar gracias a la presión de Trump, quien amenazó con retirar privilegios comerciales a menos que Tailandia y Camboya estuvieran de acuerdo con él. Se formalizó con más detalle en octubre en una reunión regional en Malasia a la que Trump asistió.

A pesar del acuerdo, los dos países continuaron con una enconada guerra de propaganda, y siguió habiendo choques transfronterizos menores.

Las raíces del conflicto entre Tailandia y Camboya se remontan a una historia de enemistad por reclamos territoriales contrapuestos. Dichos reclamos provienen en gran medida de un mapa de 1907 creado mientras Camboya era colonia francesa, el cual Tailandia sostiene es inexacto. Las tensiones se exacerbaron por un fallo de 1962 de la Corte Internacional de Justicia que otorgó la soberanía a los camboyanos, lo que aún irrita a muchos tailandeses.

Tailandia ha desplegado aviones de combate para llevar a cabo ataques aéreos contra lo que dice son blancos militares. Por su parte, Camboya ha desplegado lanzacohetes BM-21 con un alcance de entre 30 y 40 kilómetros (19-25 millas).

Según datos recopilados por la emisora pública ThaiPBS, al menos seis de los soldados tailandeses que murieron fueron alcanzados por metralla de cohetes.

El comando regional nororiental del ejército tailandés indicó el jueves que algunas áreas residenciales y hogares cerca de la frontera fueron dañados por lanzacohetes BM-21 de las fuerzas camboyanas.

El ejército tailandés también señaló que destruyó una grúa elevada, la cual estaba en la cima de una colina controlada por Camboya y en la que se encuentra el templo de Preah Vihear, de siglos de antigüedad, porque supuestamente albergaba dispositivos electrónicos y ópticos utilizados para propósitos de mando y control militar.

En repetidas ocasiones, Trump ha hecho la afirmación exagerada de que ha ayudado a resolver ocho conflictos —incluido el de Tailandia y Camboya— desde que regresó a la presidencia en enero, diciendo que ello es evidencia de su destreza negociadora. Y no ha dudado en expresar su deseo de ser reconocido con el premio Nobel de la Paz.

En un diálogo con reporteros el miércoles, se dijo confiado en que podría lograr que las dos partes volvieran a una tregua.

“De vez en cuando”, observó el mandatario, “alguno (de ellos) se encenderá de nuevo y yo tengo que apagar esa pequeña llama”.

Otro alto el fuego que Trump se atribuye haber logrado, entre la República Democrática del Congo y Ruanda, también está bajo tensión, apenas después de que los gobernantes de ambas naciones africanas viajaran a Washington para firmar un acuerdo de paz.

Un comunicado conjunto emitido por el Grupo de Contacto Internacional para los Grandes Lagos expresó su “profunda preocupación” por la situación en la región de Kivu del Sur, en el Congo, donde en los últimos días se ha desatado nueva violencia mortal atribuida al grupo miliciano M23, respaldado por Ruanda.

El grupo de contacto de los Grandes Lagos —que incluye a Bélgica, el Reino Unido, Dinamarca, Francia, Alemania, Holanda, Suecia, Suiza, Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea— ha instado a todas las partes “a cumplir con sus compromisos” bajo el acuerdo firmado la semana pasada, y a “apaciguar la situación de inmediato”.

Y el plan de Trump respaldado internacionalmente para poner fin a la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en Gaza aún no está finalizado y se encuentra en el limbo. Aún hay combates esporádicos mientras una fase crucial sigue en proceso.

___

Los periodistas de la AP Jintamas Saksornchai en Buriram, Tailandia; Grant Peck en Bangkok y Matthew Lee contribuyeron con este despacho.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/tailandia-y-camboya-acuerdan-renovar-alto-el-fuego-tras-das-de-enfrentamientos-dice-trump/ 

What The Top 1% Richest Americans Pay In Taxes Across The US

Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/12/2025 – 19:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/what-top-1-richest-americans-pay-taxes-across-us 

The Transportation Security Administration is renewing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s push to end a collective bargaining agreement with airport screening officers — the second such attempt this year and one that comes just a month after the longest government shutdown on record.

The agency said Friday the move is based on a September memo from Noem that says TSA screeners “have a primary function of national security” and therefore should not engage in collective bargaining or be represented by a union.

The American Federation of Government Employees swiftly vowed to fight the decision, calling it illegal and a violation of a federal judge’s preliminary injunction issued in June that blocked Noem’s first attempt to terminate the contract representing 47,000 workers. Emailed requests for comment were sent to TSA and Homeland Security.

TSA said it plans to rescind the current seven-year contract in January and replace it with a new “security-focused framework.” The agreement was supposed to expire in 2031.

Adam Stahl, acting TSA deputy administrator, said in a statement that airport screeners “need to be focused on their mission of keeping travelers safe.”

“Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, we are ridding the agency of wasteful and time-consuming activities that distracted our officers from their crucial work,” Stahl said.

The announcement also comes weeks after Noem held a news conference in which she handed out $10,000 bonus checks to TSA officers who she said went “above and beyond” during the 43-day shutdown, when thousands of airport screeners continued reporting for duty despite missing more than six weeks of pay during the lapse in funding.

“Merely 30 days ago, Secretary Noem celebrated TSA officers for their dedication during the longest government shutdown in history,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Today, she’s announcing a lump of coal right on time for the holidays: that she’s stripping those same dedicated officers of their union rights.”

AFGE entered into the collective bargaining agreement with TSA last May. But Noem issued a memo on Feb. 27 rescinding that agreement, and TSA notified the union a week later that the contract had been terminated and all pending grievances would be deleted.

The union sued, claiming the move was retaliation for AFGE’s resistance to the Trump administration’s attacks on federal workers. A trial is currently scheduled for next year.

The Trump administration has been laying the groundwork to weaken or eliminate protections for federal workers as it moves swiftly to shrink the bureaucracy.

In granting a preliminary injunction in June, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle said the order was necessary to preserve the rights and benefits TSA workers have long held under union representation.

Pechman wrote that AFGE had shown in its lawsuit that Noem’s directive “constitutes impermissible retaliation,” likely violated the union’s due process, and was “arbitrary and capricious” — findings that the judge said make it likely AFGE will ultimately prevail.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/tsa-collective-bargaining-agreement/ 

Lefty ‘Consumer’ Watchdog Group Bought & Paid For By Big Pharma

Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/12/2025 – 19:15

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/lefty-consumer-watchdog-group-bought-paid-big-pharma 

The U.S. Justice Department is suing four more states as part of its effort to collect detailed voting data and other election information across the country.

The department filed federal lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada on Thursday for “failing to produce statewide voter registration lists upon request.” So far, 18 states have been sued, along with Fulton County in Georgia, which was sued for records related to the 2020 election.

The Trump administration has characterized the lawsuits as part of an effort to ensure the security of elections, and the Justice Department says the states are violating federal law by refusing to provide the voter lists and information about ineligible voters. The lawsuits have raised concerns among some Democratic officials and others who question exactly how the data will be used, and whether the department will follow privacy laws to protect the information. Some of the data sought includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

“States have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws. If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will.”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said her office declined to provide unredacted voter data.

“We will not hand over Coloradans’ sensitive voting information to Donald Trump. He does not have a legal right to the information,” Griswold said Thursday after the lawsuit was filed. “I will continue to protect our elections and democracy, and look forward to winning this case.”

In a Sept. 22 letter to the Justice Department, Hawaii Deputy Solicitor General Thomas Hughes said state law requires that all personal information required on a voter registration district other than a voter’s full name, voting district or precinct and voter status, must be kept confidential. Hughes also said the federal law cited by the Justice Department doesn’t require states to turn over electronic registration lists, nor does it require states to turn over “uniquely or highly sensitive personal information” about voters.

An Associated Press tally found that the Justice Department has asked at least 26 states for voter registration rolls in recent months, and in many cases asked states for information on how they maintain their voter rolls. Other states being sued by the Justice Department include California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 on Thursday against turning over unredacted voter information to the Trump administration. The lone dissenter was Republican commissioner Robert Spindell, who warned that rejecting the request would invite a lawsuit. But other commissioners said it would be illegal under Wisconsin law to provide the voter roll information which includes the full names, dates of birth, residential addresses and driver’s license numbers of voters.

Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer contributed from Madison, Wisconsin.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/voter-data-lawsuit/ 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico tax incentives that have lured thousands of rich Americans to the U.S. territory for over a decade are under scrutiny after federal legislators released a new report on Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The report found that the island’s exemptions could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and it urged the International Revenue Service to improve its oversight, warning that some recipients “may not be meeting their federal tax obligations.”

The report was requested in July 2023 by Democrats in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee to investigate how the tax breaks “could create an unfair tax haven for the ultra-wealthy and do nothing to benefit the people of Puerto Rico.”

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said in a statement Friday that after President Donald Trump’s administration downsized the IRS, “there’s barely anyone left to check if these wealthy transplants are even playing by the rules and meeting the basic residency requirements to justify these tax breaks, let alone contributing to the community.”

IRS under scrutiny

The report stems from an audit that began in December 2023 and ended this month. It noted that Puerto Rico granted more than 5,800 resident investor incentive decrees and nearly 3,900 export service business ones from 2012 through 2024.

A majority of the resident investors come from California, followed by Florida, New York and Texas.

The IRS announced in 2021 that it would look into concerns that some people might be dodging their federal tax obligations.

That “campaign only recently began showing results, in part, due to the complexity of high-income and high-wealth audits, IRS not prioritizing the effort, and communication gaps between IRS and Puerto Rico,” the GAO report said.

It also noted that until this year, the IRS was unable to obtain complete data on those claiming the investor incentive with Social Security numbers to ensure compliance. The IRS also had no plans to get updated data from Puerto Rico and didn’t pursue U.S. taxpayers identified by Puerto Rico as those not meeting the territory’s residency requirements.

The report offered an example from August 2023, noting that Puerto Rican officials shared an audit identifying 179 taxpayers that did not provide evidence to meet a residency requirement.

“One (IRS) … official reviewed a few cases before determining the referrals did not need to be prioritized,” the GAO stated.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the exemptions, asserting that “not only is this policy driving up wealth inequality on the island, it is also stealing valuable federal tax revenue used to fund Social Security, Medicare, and other essential federal programs out of American’s pockets.”

The GAO noted that in 2024, the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance launched an independent investigation into oversight of the exemptions.

The IRS has stated that it agrees with the GAO’s recommendations and that is has taken steps, including talking with Puerto Rico treasury officials to agree upon a yearly request of data.

13 years’ worth of incentives

The incentives, created by former Gov. Luis Fortuño in 2012 to try and boost the local economy, only apply to those who come from outside Puerto Rico and meet certain requirements.

The exemptions have long been criticized on the island of 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate, with some local officials noting that they have contributed to a rise in the cost of housing, among other things.

The export services act commonly known as Act 20 offers incentives including a 4% corporate tax rate and 100% exemption on dividends or profit distributions.

Meanwhile, the individual investors act known as Act 22 targets wealthy individuals who relocate to Puerto Rico and offers 100% exemption on dividends, interest and long-term capital gains.

A study, commissioned by Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce and released in 2019, found that the exemptions created more than 36,200 jobs and generated more than $2.5 billion in investments.

A 2024 study by the agency estimated that in 2022, individuals who received the incentive had established more than 1,000 businesses and paid more than $200 million in taxes and donations to Puerto Rico, while the incentives cost the government $184 million. The study also estimated that export service businesses employed roughly 22,000 people directly.

Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department has estimated that from 2020 to 2026, the government will have foregone $4.4 billion because of individual investor incentives and $1.8 billion because of export service business incentives.

Meanwhile, the GAO said that “Puerto Rico’s economy has shown little or no growth” since the incentives were introduced in 2012, but added that “it is not possible to measure what growth or decline would have been without the incentives.”

It also noted that two major hurricanes, a series of earthquakes and the pandemic have affected economic indicators.

Puerto Rico has since tightened compliance and reporting requirements for wealthy outsiders to address concerns and help boost the economy, including doubling to $10,000 a mandated individual annual donation to nonprofit organizations.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/puerto-ricos-tax-incentives/