I love my island

So. One of the documents we need to do business here is the "Excepcion de Comerciante." In the States this would exempt us from paying sales tax on business purchases. Here it allows us to claim a credit for sales tax (IVU) paid against the sales tax collected when we sell stuff at Ola Lola's  Without that exception, we wind up paying sales tax twice. It's a pretty useful, important document.

The Excepcion must be renewed each year. Officially, ours expired on May 14 but we have until the end of the month to renew it. I went to the local Hacienda (the tax collection department) office on May 19. Other than waiting in line, the renewal process takes about 20 minutes. they check to make sure you don't owe any back taxes, print the paper and off you go.

Oops! They found a glitch. The income tax office in San Juan disallowed a credit in our 2012 (!) income tax and said we owed $205 in overdue tax and interest. This, by the way, was the first time we'd heard about this. We have receive NO communication about this from the income tax office. Anyway, pay or resolve this debt or no renewed Excepcion.

Our choices: Pay the $205 or take a bunch o' documents to San Juan and try to get the ruling reversed. I chose to take a shot at going to San Juan. At 6:00 am on May 24, I left for Hacienda in San Juan. Whatever happened, I needed this resolve by Friday, May 27. It's Memorial Day weekend and any holiday spells doom for getting anything accomplished.

I expect this to be an all day dragged out affair. I was prepared to do battle, like Don Quixote but in broken Spanish. A note here: a friend suggested I put down my windmill-tilting lance and armor and instead smile and in a friendly manner ask for help. I did this and I think it helped. We got through the documents and the very nice lady said she would review the case and let me know the result. I asked her, "Ahora? Hoy?" ("Now? Today?") "Ah, no. Uno mes." ("No. One month.")

I explained - in Spanish - that I needed this resolved today and explained the problem with the Excepcion and paying IVU twice and all that. She told me they could give me a letter telling the local office the case was under review and to go ahead give me the Exception. Brilliant! I was out of there in about an hour! Everyone was very nice and helpful. Must have been my smile and friendly, non-combative demeanor.

On May 25, armed with my letter from the income tax office in San Juan. I got up early to be at or very near the front of the line at the local office. I was in fact fourth in line. They called my number. I went to talk to the Gate Keeper. I didn't get any farther.

I didn't need to get any farther. Somewhere sometime between May 19, when I first started the process, and May 25, when I went to (hopefully) finish it, the powers-that-be, by administrative declaration, decreed all existing valid Excepcions are good through December 31!

Nearly a week of scrambling, running around, fretting, gnashing of teeth done by administrative declaration.

I love my island!