Roxana Cruz-Rivera ESQ., LLM is a Special Tax & Corporate Counsel

of Vidal, Nieves & Bauzá, LLC

t. +1 787.413.8885 | e. rcruz@vnblegal.com

Ms. Cruz-Rivera is a JD-educated business strategist with an LLM in taxation and more than 20 years’ experience practicing law in Puerto Rico.  She has experience is providing counsel to government and business leaders and is an innovative counselor specializing in tax and tax incentives with a strong understanding of Act 20 and 22 of 2012 and Act 73 of 2008.

For the last two years Cruz served as Deputy Secretary of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department where she managed all tax policies related to tax credits; set in place rules on income tax collections for businesses, manufacturers and large global NGO’s.  Cruz Initiated the first comprehensive catalog of Puerto Rico’s Special tax incentives acts and inventoried all available tax credits.

Cruz is also the former Director of the Tax and Legislation Affairs Office of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (“PRIDCO”), where she was in charge of the implementation stage for all processes regarding most of Puerto Rico economic development and tax incentive acts, including Act 73 of 2008, Act 83 of 2010, and Acts 20 & 22 of 2012. She reported directly to the Executive Director of PRIDCO and to the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico to provide advice regarding the legal requirements to qualify for benefits under the different incentives acts that fell under her purview. Ms. Cruz-Rivera also negotiated tax exemption grants with Fortune 500 companies on behalf of the Government of Puerto Rico -- mostly in the pharmaceutical and medical devices fields -- and was one of the main advisors to the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce regarding those negotiations and the terms to be agreed to by the Government of Puerto Rico.

Prior to working at PRIDCO, Ms. Cruz-Rivera was a partner at  one of Puerto Rico’s major full service firms, where she worked in the Tax Department, specializing on tax matters focused on income tax issues, on Puerto Rico’s sales and use tax, and on all Puerto Rico government tax incentives programs available to investors. She also represented clients in the Puerto Rico courts, as well as before government agencies and public corporations, and municipalities regarding tax-related controversies and audits. Prior to that experience, Ms. Cruz-Rivera served as legal advisor at the Legal Affairs Office of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, where she was in charge of tax cases pertaining to deficiencies, refunds and appeals of administrative determinations regarding income and excise taxes.
 

Ms. Cruz-Rivera holds an LLM in Taxation from the New York University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and a Bachelor in Business Administration Degree with a Major Concentration in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico. She is admitted to practice law before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

​