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On proposed flat tax system
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Posted on Jul 24 2000
At Issue: The recent introduction of the flat tax proposal in the House of Representatives, CNMI Legislature.
Our View: It’s time for a simple tax system for what is basically a very simple island community.
It was 22 years ago when Speaker Benigno R. Fitial worked on the current Mirror Image tax system at the birth of the CNMI’s constitutional government.
It’s a tax law that is arcane at best, too cumbersome and costly for most simple islanders and businessmen, at worse.
More often than not, they can’t determine if they are victims of double taxation and other flaws that grants city hall the upperhand in the thick maze of a complicated system.
Since 22 years ago, the tax system was hardly visited by lawmakers which confirms the complexity of delving into an issue that is best left to real tax experts.
So policy makers have kept a ten-foot pole from tinkering with a highly complex tax law that is the apparent sole preserve of tax experts and accounting firms.
Under the Covenant, the CNMI is given the privilege to make amends to the Mirror Image tax (current system). It will, however, require the approval of the US Congress. It involves a process which begins with deliberate discussions of specific provisions in what is being proposed. It’s nothing to fight about, but everything to benefit from through reasoned analysis.
The measure is a basic piece of legislation so proposed to generate discussion. It’s not written in stone and the end product–which will subsequently be considered by the US Congress–requires the dedicated participation of all concerns.
Like any public policy of substance, this is the time to say your piece in our collective efforts to simplify the CNMI’s tax system.
It’s way overdue and we encourage all concerns to pitch-in in deliberative fashion to arrive at a workable and simple tax system. Si Yuus Maase`!
