Sept. 30, 2018
Hagåtña — Taxpayers have had to wait longer for tax refunds and the Government of Guam has had to pay more in interest because as often as the governor has provided solutions, the Democratic majority has quickly denied them.
To date, the Calvo-Tenorio Administration has paid about $1.3 billion in tax refunds to the people of Guam.
And contrary to Sen. Lee’s political commercials this administration was paying tax refunds within months of taxpayers filing even before she ran for political office. She didn’t take the administration to court, by the way, we took her and the Legislature to court in our efforts to pay tax refunds faster – something she fought against. Additionally, because the Calvo Tenorio administration has prioritized tax refunds, we have reduced the amount of interest we paid.
When the administration first came into office, the plan from the CT administration was to include in its financing plan the amounts needed to pay off all tax refunds from previous administrations PLUS have money set aside for the upcoming year. While the Democratic majority was willing to borrow more money, they rejected the plan that would have addressed the tax refund issue. Last year, when Governor Calvo proposed the Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note, and opened the floor to testimony, the legislators like Sen. Lee shut that opportunity down.
As a result, you, the taxpayers waited months for your refunds. If Sen. Lee had not fought the TRAN bill, you would have received your tax refund in days.
Additionally, the TRAN could have saved an interest of $150,000, and the taxpayer would have been able to receive money back into their hands within weeks.
As of yesterday, the administration has paid more than $115 MILLION in tax refunds – of that more than $1.3 million was paid in interest. With TRAN that $1.3 million in interest, at least a portion could have gone to more tax payers. That’s about 5% interest paid. The TRAN, in year one was 3% and in year two was at 4%.
“This administration will continue to prioritize tax refunds, history shows that and our current actions are an illustration of that commitment. It’s disappointing, however, that senators at the Legislature, who should be partners in helping our people get their refunds faster, have instead been an obstacle in this endeavor,” Governor Calvo stated.