Puerto Rico’s Act 60

More Than Economics, a Human Rights Issue

For my senior research analysis project, I chose to examine Puerto Rico’s Act 60 policy. To gain a personal perspective on its impact, I interviewed Nyia Chusan, a Puerto Rican graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, who shared her experiences of how gentrification has changed her island:

I was six years old the first time I visited Puerto Rico. I can vividly recall the coqui singing in my Titi’s backyard at night. I remember playing mango baseball with all of my cousins, using mangos from our family tree. My favorite part of the trip was going to the beach. My cousins and I played in the water for hours as our parents sipped cocktails on the sand. All of my cousins lived in the same neighborhood. We would walk back and forth from our Titi’s house to theirs in under two minutes. As years passed, the neighborhood began to change. My favorite tienda closed, and a new cafe opened in its place. My cousins no longer live in the same place, because the rent got too expensive.

Nyia’s experiences reflect a larger human rights issue Puerto Rico is facing due to the legal tax loophole known as Act 60. Act 60 is a tax incentive to bring in wealthy investors to Puerto Rico. This is not just an economic policy; it is an issue that demands urgent attention as it drives gentrification and displaces Puerto Rican families from their own island. Nyia recalled, “The area where my family lived for generations, where I visited every year, has slowly become unrecognizable.”

Act 60 originated in Act 22, enacted in 2012 to encourage investors to relocate to Puerto Rico. Act 22 was modified and turned into Act 60 in 2019. Businesses receive a “corporate tax rate of just 4 percent, compared to the 21 percent federal corporate rate” (Vanderhoef et al., 2025). U.S. citizens moving to the island receive a “zero percent tax on capital gains accrued after establishing residency and a complete tax exemption on interest and dividends” (Vanderhoef et al., 2025). To be eligible under Act 60, a taxpayer must fulfill “bona fide residency,” meaning they must reside in Puerto Rico for a minimum of 183 days each year to receive exemption status (Vanderhoef et al., 2025). Since 2020, many jobs have begun to be offered fully remotely, which can be seen as an incentive for relocation. Between 2021 and 2022, around 27,000 people relocated to Puerto Rico (Gaines, 2024). Although there is a large influx of people relocating, they are not contributing to the local economy through local jobs. Many have remote positions, and their salaries are tied to companies outside Puerto Rico. 

Gentrification is the process by which affluent individuals move into a historically marginalized area, displacing current residents (The Uprooted Project). In Puerto Rico, gentrification has driven up housing costs and eroded cultural influence in local neighborhoods. Nyia recalled how, “Each year, new shops would pop up on Avenida Ashford in Condado, none of which were owned by locals. My cousins and I always avoided them because they were way too expensive, and no locals bothered shopping there either.” Federico Cintrón-Moscoso, a program director at the human rights organization, El Puente, said, “You have rich people, mostly from outside of Puerto Rico, that in some cases are buying entire blocks or three, four, [or] five buildings at the same time” (Rojas-Lebron, 2024). Puerto Ricans do not reap the benefits these wealthy outsiders do; instead, they experience a mass displacement. Property values and rents are far too expensive for locals to live on their own island. 

Advocates like Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican musical artist, have recently garnered increasing global attention in the past year, focusing on the island’s experiences with blackouts, gentrification, and political corruption. Bad Bunny created a documentary-style music video in 2022 titled “El Apagon,” where he shares the realities of living in Puerto Rico. In the video, Bianca Graulau, a Puerto Rican journalist, stated, “They do not see us as people, they see us as a tax break.” Bianca was referring to the tens of thousands of people who move to Puerto Rico to take advantage of the tax break under Act 60. 

Gentrification should be considered a human rights issue. In 2024, a record 6.6 million tourists arrived in San Juan (Parker, 2025). With so many tourists coming in and out of the island, and Act 60 serving as an incentive for U.S. citizens from the mainland to move to the island, cultural and human rights issues arise. According to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), people “shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language” (OHCHR). Unfortunately, these rights have been violated due to gentrification. Act 60 puts foreign newcomers’ economic interests above the rights of local Puerto Ricans. Nyia emphasized throughout our interview that gentrification erases memories, traditions, and customs for families like hers all across the island.

While many believe that high tourism rates and legal frameworks, such as Act 60, are beneficial for boosting local economies, the reality is that Puerto Rico has been transformed to cater to outside financial interests at the expense of its heritage and way of life. Aside from “El Apagon,” Bad Bunny released his newest album this year, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” which contains many songs that highlight the current issues Puerto Rico faces with tourism and gentrification. He produced another short film, which highlighted the decline of Spanish-speaking in stores and restaurants due to gentrification. Local Puerto Ricans are being economically displaced, and the presence of their language is significantly lessening to become more adaptable to tourism.

There must be policy reform to Act 60 so the government can invest in affordable housing, rent control, and stronger local infrastructure to benefit local Puerto Ricans. The tax incentives of Act 60 also need to be revised.

Nyia closed our conversation by emphasizing the impact of these policies:

Our island is small, and Puerto Ricans are scattered across the United States, but no amount of distance can take away our love and support for our island. Act 60 is not just an economic policy; it is a human rights issue. The island belongs to Puerto Ricans, not wealthy investors or tourists. I, like all Puerto Ricans, am proud of our island. This island has been home to countless generations of families, just like mine, who want nothing more than to continue that tradition for generations to come.