The Puerto Rico Urgent Interest Fund Corporation (also known as the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation) —Spanish: ''Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante'' (COFINA)— is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico that issues
government bond
A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity date ...
s and uses other financing mechanisms to pay and refinance the
public debt of Puerto Rico
The public debt of Puerto Rico is the money borrowed by the government of Puerto Rico through the issue of securities by the Government Development Bank and other government agencies.
History
In May 2007, local economists expressed serious con ...
. The Corporation is a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of the
Government Development Bank
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and was created by Law No. 291 of 2006. Bonds issued by COFINA are called
Puerto Rico Sales Tax Revenue Bond
Bonds issued by the government of Puerto Rico and its subdivisions are exempt from federal, state, and local taxes (so called "triple tax exemption"). However, unlike other triple tax exempt bonds, Puerto Rican bonds uphold such exemption regardl ...
s.
Background
The Corporation receives half of the state government portion of the
Puerto Rico Sales and Use Tax
Taxation in Puerto Rico consists of taxes paid to the United States federal government and taxes paid to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Payment of taxes to the federal government, both personal and corporate, is done through ...
(SUT) (2.75%, or half of the out of the state government’s portion of 6%) and is authorized to use such portion pay or finance, in whole or in part, or fund:
# certain debt obligations of the
government of Puerto Rico
The government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government with separation of powers, subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.Department of Treasury with the Government Development Bank; and
# others
As of May 2011, COFINA had issued over $14.4 billion in bonds pursuant to its Enabling Act, as amended, of which $13.4 billion were
outstanding
"Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...
. As an independent corporation, COFINA has the same powers, rights and faculties as the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank under its Constitutional Charter.