Yes increased taxes – not paying federal taxes was the justification for not getting SSI benefits.

Of relevance here, Congress must decide how to structure federal taxes and benefits for residents of the Territories. In doing so, Congress has long maintained federal tax and benefits programs for residents of Puerto Rico and the other Territories that differ in some respects from the federal tax and benefits programs for residents of the 50 States.

On the tax side, for example, residents of Puerto Rico are typically exempt from most federal income, gift, estate, and excise taxes. See 39 Stat. 954, as amended, 48 U. S. C. §734; see, e.g., 26 U. S. C. §§933, 2209, 4081–4084. At the same time, residents of Puerto Rico generally pay Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes. 26 U. S. C. §§3121(e), 3306(j).

On the benefits side, residents of Puerto Rico are eligible for Social Security and Medicare. §3121(e); 42 U. S. C. §§410(h)–(i), 1301(a)(1). Residents of Puerto Rico are also eligible for federal unemployment benefits. 26 U. S. C. §3306(j); see also House Committee on Ways and Means, Cite as: 596 U. S. ____ (2022) 3 Opinion of the Court Green Book: Background Material and Data on the Programs Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, App. A (24th ed. 2018).

But just as not every federal tax extends to residents of Puerto Rico, so too not every federal benefits program extends to residents of Puerto Rico. One example is the Supplemental Security Income program, which Congress passed and President Nixon signed into law in 1972. 86 Stat. 1465. The Supplemental Security Income program provides benefits for, among others, those who are age 65 or older and cannot financially support themselves.