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Senate wants to waive Tinian ferry head tax
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Posted on Jul 14 1999
A measure under way in the Senate will seek waiver on passenger fee imposed on the ferry between Tinian and Saipan in efforts to assist shipping companies and help spur the island’s economy.
Sen. Herman M. Manglona has offered Senate Bill 11-151 in an attempt to forbid the Commonwealth Ports Authority from collecting a $4.50 regulatory passenger fee at the Saipan seaport.
The prohibition will be effective once the proposal becomes a law until September 30 next year, delaying the CPA plan to set up its own collection system to receive the fee immediately from passengers disembarking at the port in Puerto Rico.
According to the bill filed yesterday, the Legislature will assist the Tinian municipality in its pursuit for economic development by ensuring an efficient transportation system between the island and Saipan.
“(I)n order to achieve the goals of assisting the economic development of Tinian and maintaining convenient means of transportation between the islands of Saipan and Tinian, such transportation should not be overburdened by imposition and collection of passenger fees,” Manglona said.
The move followed CPA’s rejection of a request by the Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Ltd. board chairman Michael Kwan to lower the head tax in a bid to save the operations of its subsidiary, Tinian shipping.
The company, which also owns the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, owes the ports authority an undetermined amount of accrued passenger fees in recent months.
But CPA officials are working out a payment scheme with Tinian Shipping for the settlement of the debt to help the cash-strapped government agency meet its $33 million obligations to borrowers incurred by its Seaport Division.
Tinian Shipping ferried an average of 22,000 passengers a month covering January to May 1999, while 94 percent of the total 106,966 passengers during the five-month period were non-paying. Majority of the six percent paying passengers came from Tinian.
The passenger fee used to cost $3.75 and was being collected by CPA from shipping companies on a monthly basis. The ports authority raised it to $4.50 last July 1 to help service its debt.
