Citizenship

Puerto Ricans are United States Citizens by virtue of an Act of Congress of 1917. The rights and responsibilities of Puerto Ricans as citizens of the United States of America are the same as those of any other U.S. citizen as long as they do not reside in Puerto Rico or certain territories of the United States of America.

Under Section 933 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, bonafide residents of Puerto Rico are exempt from paying federal income taxes on income earned in Puerto Rico. They must pay, instead, Puerto Rico income taxes which represent about the same dollar amount as the combined federal and state taxes in many states of the United States of America.

Related links P R Income taxes Residency P R politics

Residents of Puerto Rico are required to pay Social Security and Medicare contributions under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act in exactly the same percentages that apply for the fifty states of the union. However, residents of Puerto do not enjoy all the benefits extended by the Social Security Administration to residents of any of the fifty states.

Puerto Rico is represented in U.S. Congress by a Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives. The Resident Commissioner is elected by popular vote in the general elections in Puerto Rico, which coincide with the presidental elections in the United States of America Residents of Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote in U.S. Presidential elections.

During the early 1990’s, one Puerto Rican formally renounced his U.S. citizenship and requested that he be legally considered a Citizen of Puerto Rico. Several other Puerto Ricans have taken similar steps. It is an interesting political action, but it is not considered to have far-reaching consequences at this time.

In April 2000, a group of ten Puertoricans, former residents of the Continental United States, have asked the Federal Court to rule on the constitutionality of the law that prevents residents of Puerto Rico from voting for the President of the United States.

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