SCC calls for public hearings on all new tax bills

In any move that would deal with proposed legislation that would affect the cost of doing business, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce stressed that the Legislature must consult the public through public hearings.

Chamber president Richard Pierce said that, in this way, lawmakers will be apprised, not only of the Chamber’s position on these proposed legislation but also of how other public groups and organization feel about these measure and how they will be affected if the measures pass through.

Toward this goal, House Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider has referred House Local Bill 13-25 to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation during yesterday’s House session to solicit the public’s comments on the measure.

House Local Bill 13-25 seeks to impose an additional local user fee of 1.3 percent on top of the user fee already being collected under 4 CMC Section 1421 on the merchandise being exported by garment makers from the CNMI to the United States.

Pierce told reporters that, according to the Speaker, House Local Bill13-25 was specifically included in yesterday’s calendar so it could be referred to the local delegation, “which means it goes to the two mayors and members of the delegation.”

“After 30 days, the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation will then hold a public hearing. Therefore, we are satisfied to hear that this will bring in all members of the public and our concerns are met by what the Speaker’s attempting to do today,” he added.

The Chamber president said that whenever the Legislature is entertaining finance bills, tax bills, exceptions for tax bills, the minimum wage—anything that would affect the cost of doing business—the Chamber’s position is that “we don’t need to have any increases in the cost of doing business right now because of the current economic situation in the Commonwealth.”

He said the Chamber understands that the Babauta administration is strapped; that it has cash problems right now and a lot of the pending bills are aimed at trying to take care of the money flow problem.

“We respect very much the work that the Legislature but on bills that would effectuate a change in the cost of operations of any business in the Commonwealth, we must have public hearings to discuss this so everyone understands what the situation is with us, that we understand what they’re trying to do, and that we have mass input before bills of these significance occurs,” he stressed.

In the case of House Local Bill 13-25, Pierce said the garment industry is opposed to it but he stressed that what lawmakers need to hear is what other public groups and other organizations feel about how they will be affected by this bill if it passes through, particularly if the measure is linked to a tiered-wage system or an exemption from the excise tax on certain industries.