P.R. Laws tit. 21, § 5068
All real property shall be assessed in the municipality in which it is located, to levy taxes on it in the name of the person who is the owner or is in possession thereof on the first day of January, except that the external plant used for line telecommunication and personal telecommunication services, including but not limited to, the poles, aerial and underground telecommunication lines, towers, antennas and the central offices used for line telecommunication and personal telecommunication services, as well as public telephones and any other real property although they are located in Puerto Rico, the municipality where they are located cannot be identified, and that are owned by a person who operates or provides any telecommunication services in Puerto Rico, shall be assessed and charged to their owner and the assessed valuation shall be distributed among the municipalities according to the formula provided below. Said distribution rule shall not apply to the external plant, central offices and any other real property used for long distance intrastate and interstate telecommunication services owned by a person who only operates or provides long distance intrastate and interstate telephone services. In case the property is registered in the Property Registry, the Collection Center shall assess the property in the name of the person under whose name it is registered in the Property Registry on date of the assessment, unless the Collection Center has knowledge that said person is not its true owner, in which case the Collection Center shall perform the assessment in the name of the true owner. If after the Collection Center has prepared and issued a receipt to the registered owner it is discovered that the true owner of said property on the date of the assessment is a different person or entity, the Collection Center is hereby authorized to cancel the incorrect receipt, perform a new assessment and prepare a new receipt in the name of the true owner. It is also authorized to cancel any real estate tax receipt upon the voluntary purchase or expropriation by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities, or by the Government of the United States and its instrumentalities, after the first of January and before the first of July of any year. In this case, it shall issue new receipts in the name of the agency or public corporation should either be bound to pay property taxes, which shall be liable for its payment as if it had been levied from the first of January. Should the agency or public corporation be exempt from the levying and payment of taxes, no receipt whatsoever shall be issued. No deduction whatsoever shall be made on account of any debt secured by a mortgage, annuity contract, sales contract with repurchase clause, a contract or other obligation which said real property has been encumbered with, it being up to the mortgagee or holder of the mortgage, annuity contract, sales contract with repurchase clause, contract or other obligation to fulfill the tax obligations on said property, which in that case, shall continue to be deemed and treated as interest in the property affected by them, and the mortgagee or annuitant shall continue to be subject to the payment of the corresponding taxes, and the value of the property affected by said liens, which shall be deducted therefrom, shall be what is taken into account to levy taxes on the owner thereof in the local municipal district in which the property is located; and the taxes so levied shall constitute a lien on the property and the collateral, which may be paid by any of the parties in said collateral, but should the owner of the property pay the same, said taxes shall constitute a payment on account of the debt and its amount, and shall be an acquittance thereof.
It is hereby provided that with regard to real property dedicated to a timeshare or vacation club regime, created under §§ 1251 et seq. of Title 31, the appraisal and service of tax liability shall be made as follows:
(a) In cases in which a developer or a third party holds the title deed on real property dedicated to a timeshare or vacation club regime since what is subject to sale are either timeshare contractual rights or vacation rights of a personal nature on said real property, or rights of a personal nature with respect to lodgings located in the same, the property shall be appraised and the service of tax liability shall be made in the name of the developer or third party retaining said title;
(b) in those cases in which the developer sells special timeshare rights or real property vacation or lodging rights, the property shall be appraised in the name of each titleholder of timeshare or vacation rights on said real property or lodgings in proportion to his or her share of the time share facilities or vacation club plan, as stated in the deed to dedicate the real property to said regime. Notwithstanding the above, the service of tax liability shall be made totally by unit or apartment in the name of the managing entity of a timeshare or vacation club rights plan, as an agent representing the titleholders of timeshare rights or real estate vacation or lodging rights, in which case said managing entity shall have the duty to immediately inform each titleholder of their property tax obligations and shall collect such tax on behalf of the Collection Center of the common expenses pursuant to § 1251b of Title 31. The managing entity shall remit the payment of the taxes thus collected to the Collection Center pursuant to the provisions of § 5091 of this title. Once said managing entity collects the titleholder’s tax of the common expenses, it shall be understood that the title holder has met his obligation and the managing entity shall be responsible for the payment of said tax to the Collection Center. However, the managing entity shall not answer to the Collection Center for taxes owed by the titleholder when said titleholder has not made the payment to the managing entity;
(c) the share in the real property that corresponds to special timeshare rights and real vacation or lodging rights, that have not been divided by units shall be appraised and the service of tax liability shall be made in the name of the developer;
(d) in those cases in which the term of a special timeshare or real estate vacation club regime expires, the participation corresponding to said right which reverts to the developer pursuant to the articles of incorporation of the timeshare or vacation club regime; the property shall be appraised and the service of tax liability shall be made in the name of the developer, as long as he holds the title deed on said rights, and
(e) in those cases in which building subject to the timeshare or vacation club regime is established on property belonging to another party, the land shall be appraised in the name of the owner of the land and the building shall be appraised pursuant to the above rules.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 83, § 3.18; June 24, 1998, No. 95, § 6; July 17, 1998, No. 128, § 2.