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Budget sets $51.8M for municipalities; Hacienda, OGP pilot SURI tools for municipal taxes
Summary
OGP said the FY2026 proposal includes $51.8 million for municipalities and highlighted pilot projects to let four municipalities use SURI for municipal patent administration and to process the municipal one‑percent IVU share via SURI by July.
The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Hacienda told the House Finance Commission the FY2026 budget includes $51.8 million directed to municipalities and that the administration is advancing pilots to use the island’s SURI tax platform for municipal collections.
Orlando Rivera said the proposed budget includes $51.8 million in direct support to municipalities for FY2026 and that additional custody funds under OGP could bring the total available to nearly $100 million depending on Board approvals. OGP and AFAF explained they are taking steps to make short‑term funds available to municipalities for service‑essential needs, such as trash collection and emergency response staffing.
Hacienda said a pilot program with four volunteer municipalities — the transcript named Camuy, Maunabo and Toa Baja and one additional municipality the presenters said they would provide — is testing SURI integration for municipal patent administration. The department also told the commission it expects a SURI‑administered option for the one‑percent municipal portion of the sales and use tax (IVU municipal 1%) to be live by July.
Why it matters: Municipalities have warned about the end of previous “equalization” funding and the need for new mechanisms to preserve local services. Treasury‑administered options that let municipalities use a shared digital platform could reduce compliance costs for merchants and speed transfers to municipal governments, the presenters said.
Ending: OGP and Hacienda told the commission they will provide specific pilot municipality names, the timetable and any estimated costs municipalities might incur for voluntary platform participation.
