Department of Revenue & Taxation will begin processing 29,408 tax refund checks with Status “A.” Department of Administration will mail the checks out next week.
Department of Revenue & Taxation reported to Governor Calvo that federal reimbursements owed to Guam, Section 30, will be received next week.
The Calvo Tenorio administration campaigned in 2010 that it would make tax refunds a priority. Nearly $300 million in tax refunds were owed. In 2011, about $200 million in tax refunds owed for previous years to thousands of people was finally paid out and nearly $100 million again was paid out in 2012. Since then, tax refunds are paid within the year. This is the FIRST administration in decades to accomplish this.
Wishy Washy mentality on tax refund payments
In previous years, senators like Vice Speaker BJ Cruz urged the Governor to “cut the politics and cut the checks” when the question of using Section 30 money for tax refunds arose. Last year, Senator Mike San Nicolas sent a letter to the Governor concurring on the use of Section 30 to pay tax returns.
NOW both the Vice Speaker and Senator San Nicolas are criticizing the Governor for using Section 30 funds to pay refunds.
This is not the change-with-the-wind mentality that Guam needs. The Calvo Tenorio Administration has stood firm in its priorities and continues to work to fulfill them; that has what made this administration the FIRST in decades to pay out tax refunds on a timely basis.
“If paying tax refunds was a priority yesterday, then it must be a priority today and it must be a priority tomorrow. You can’t be wishy washy about these things,” the Governor stated.
Governor orders refunds be mailed as soon as possible
The Governor has directed the tax refunds be processed and the checks mailed out by the end of next week. The checks are for all status A tax refunds. These refund checks will be for taxpayers who filed on or before May 22, 2016.
Of the 29,408 refunds, 28,822 are for tax year 2015 and 586 are for prior years.
—