California 2 Puerto Rico

I am officially living in Puerto Rico full time now, and since I don’t have any property or assets on the mainland, I decided to take advantage of the very generous tax breaks both the federal U.S. government and Puerto Rico give to businesses that move their mainland companies to Puerto Rico. I am currently in the research stage and will be hiring a firm out of San Juan that has both Certified Public Accountants and Lawyers that will graciously help me through the entire process of setting up a Puerto Rico Corporation, filing for tax exemption, showing my business history and appearing with me in front of a committee that will question my business and its move to Puerto Rico (for a fee). I don’t think it is as easy as setting up an S-Corp back on the mainland.

It is my understanding, that because I am in the service industry (Marketing) and that 90% of my clients are not in Puerto Rico, if I employee 5 residents of Puerto Rico (can be gringo or Puerto Rican as long as they live here) I can qualify for a Tax Exemption. This tax exemption will completely relieve me from having to pay Federal Taxes and will reduce my state taxes to 7% after all of my deductions. I also we will not be double taxed. I only pay taxes on my business once, then all the profits are mine at the end of the year. If I pay myself a salary, I will have to pay taxes on that (but I can write that off as a PO) Now, 5 employees is about all I would like to have (I used to have almost 40), but it would be worth bringing them on just for the tax break!

The problem with having employees is that you have to work harder. You need to have a plan for them everyday and most of all, you need to make sure they don’t all asleep on your desk. Cheech’s first and last day on the job:

Cheech, you’re fired!

Popularity: 65% [?]

By request, I actually went in to the Econo in Rincon today to take pictures of the produce section. I also took a couple snap shots of the fish section.

We really were just so spoiled in California. We had so many options. Here, if you want to make a salad, you can! You just won’t have the same options from the local grocer. For example…you can always get iceberg lettuce and the carrots are always ripe. However, you may not be able to get spinach or spring mix and the tomatoes may all be green.

Here are a couple of pictures for you (by request):

Puerto Rican Grocer - Da’ Fruit!

Caribbean Deep Water Fish? Not so much.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Our downstairs offices are finally coming together enough that we have moved into them. Here is a sneak preview of the Vicious Enterprises - Puerto Rico office:

The polished concrete floors have been sealed three times and the walls have been plastered, but we have to wait 1 - 2 more weeks to apply the wall sealer (to avoid moisture problems in the future) and then we can paint. We returned the ceiling fan since we found out that the expensive fans we bought for the offices don’t actually circulate any air (unfortunately for Stefan his office was the 1st one to get the fan, where we discovered how bad they suck). I’m thinking of putting in an awesomely gaudy chandelier instead, plus air conditioning. If you can’t tell, my office is going to be decorated in a “modern vintage international Parisian flea market” theme. I’m using black, white and a bold accent color as the color palate, but I can decide what color I’m going to use yet. I was going to do pink, but every girl does pink nowadays, so now I’m leaning towards a deep purple or bright tealish blue.

It’s nice to have a somewhat private space again, so we can get back to work without distractions and interuptions. Contrary to popular opinion, Stefan and I do actually have jobs :).

Popularity: 28% [?]

According to Stefans accountant, if you own a business in Puerto Rico and employ at least 5 Puerto Ricans, you are not required to pay taxes. That’s right, no state taxes and no federal taxes!

Minimum wage in Puerto Rico is $3.61 - $5.15, which means it would cost $2,888 - $4,120 per month to employ 5 Puerto Ricans full time.

Verrrrrry interesting.

Stefan is going to get more details on this from his accountant and I have a meeting on Monday with my accountant/financial planner. We’ll post the lowdown when we get the facts on this one…

Popularity: 16% [?]

Casa Verde Guest House

A great place to stay in Rincon Puerto Rico

More Guest House Pictures all the way down

My friends over at Casa Verde Guest House in the Puntas Barrio of Rincon are designing a new website because their old one is quite dated. The navigation is made up of coconuts asking you to guess which page it is going to take you to.

Anywho…they spent a lot of time and money in the off season this year completely re-doing the whole place. They are located 50 yards from Sandy Beach and there is no hill to hike up and down in the heat of the day; they are at the bottom of the hill.

For those of you interested in checking out Casa Verde…I put a bunch of information from their brochure below and about 20 pictures of Casa Verde…a great guest house in Rincon Puerto Rico.

Call Casa Verde in Rincon by dialing (787) 823- 3756
Email Casa Verde Guest House in Rincon Puerto Rico
casaverdeguesthouse@gmail.com

Just minutes from Sandy Beach, Casa Verde is a short walk to one of the best public beaches for sun bathing, swimming and simply relaxing. Other close-by beaches host spots for surfing, snorkeling, and diving.

Casa Verde is also home to the Rock Bottom Bar & Grille. In a “tree-house” style setting we serve up appetizers and sandwiches. In season, we serve until Midnight or 2 a.m. on weekends.

Casa Verde Guest House offers three different sized apartments for your stay.

Choose from either:
• Studios
• One bedroom one bath
• Two bedroom with one bath
• Three bedroom with two bath

Most are equipped with kitchenettes, air conditioning, and range in price from $59.95 to $179.95 during the summer and $79.95 to $229.95 during the winter.

Unit #101 is our “Rock Bottom Studio”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps two people
• Kitchenette with stove top, microwave, coffee maker and mini-fridge.
• Private Patio

Unit #102 is our “Rock Bottom Suite”
• 2 Bedrooms with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps six people
• Kitchen with oven, stove, microwave, coffee maker, toaster & refrigerator
• Patio looking at courtyard.

Unit #103 is our “ Courtyard Studio”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps two people , 1 queen
• Kitchenette
• Private Patio looking at Courtyard
• Handicapped equipped.

Unit #104 is our “Woodlands Retreat”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps four people , 2 queens
• Kitchenette
• Secluded entrance facing the woodlands

Unit #201 is our “Ocean View Suite”
• 2 Bedrooms with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps five people , 1 king, 1 full, 1 twin
• Kitchen with stove, microwave, coffee maker and fridge.
• Shared Patio overlooking courtyard

Unit #202 is our “Courtyard Studio”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps two people , 1 full, 1 day bed
• Microwave with mini-fridge
• Shared Balcony with ocean view
• This unit can be joined with 201 to make 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Unit #203 is our “ Patio Studio”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps four people , 2 queens
• Kitchenette
• Private Patio with ocean view

Unit #204 is our “ Patio Retreat”
• 1 Bedroom with A/C
• 1 Bathroom
• Sleeps four people , 2 queens
• Kitchenette
• Huge Private Patio looking at the woodlands

Popularity: 21% [?]