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Atalig cites ‘successful’ tax amnesty program
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Posted on Jan 17 2005
With only a day to go for tax delinquents to settle their obligations, the Department of Finance remains hopeful that it would meet its target figure of $2.1 million.
When asked yesterday, Finance Secretary Fermin M. Atalig said that the tax amnesty campaign “is being successful.”
“We’re successful in terms of getting money that otherwise we’d have trouble collecting,” he said.
“I think we’re reaching that figure [$2.1 million].”
The department targeted about 500 delinquent taxpayers, including 15 who owe the CNMI government hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Public Law 14-18 or the tax amnesty program, waives penalties and interest for taxes on accounts receivables for the periods before Jan. 1, 2004.
The law provides for 120-day amnesty period, which ends tomorrow.
The government earlier said that if tax evaders fail to settle their unpaid taxes within the period, they would be prosecuted criminally.
CNMI chief prosecutor David Hutton said his office had almost completed investigating at least four major cases of tax evasion, where each of the tax evaders owe the CNMI government several hundred thousand dollars.
He said the four are among the CNMI’s top 15 tax evaders, whom he declined to identify in view of the tax amnesty implementation.
In signing the law last year, Gov. Juan N. Babauta said tax delinquents should better avail themselves of the amnesty because he would not support similar measures in the future.
The new tax amnesty applies to all taxes for all tax years prior to 2004, including taxes on wages, salary or earnings; gross revenue; room, bar, and jackpot taxes; and excise taxes.
The law allows delinquent taxpayers to settle unpaid taxes by filing special returns with the government.
It does not apply, however, to those who are party in a civil or criminal tax action, or anyone who has not fully paid a civil or criminal judgment against them.
