$7M in rebates, refunds in Dec.

Some $7 million in tax rebate and refund checks are expected to be released by December in time for Christmas shopping, much later than the previous years’ release dates of July or August as the government continues to struggle with finances.

Acting governor Eloy S. Inos said yesterday that while the release of refund and rebate checks would be delayed this year, the administration is firm on releasing some $5 million to $6 million in child tax credit checks in time for the school opening in September.

Some schools open as early as August.

“Right now we’re still in data entry stage on the child tax credit,” Inos told Saipan Tribune in an interview.

The federal child tax credit is available to taxpayers who have a child under the age of 17. It is worth up to $1,000 per “qualifying” child.

In general, a “qualifying” child is any individual for whom the taxpayer can claim a dependency exemption and who is the taxpayer’s son or daughter, stepson or stepdaughter, brother or sister, or eligible foster child.

“The reason why we’re [releasing] the child tax credit is because it’s federally funded and number two, schools are going to be opening. Usually these are sources of funds,” he said.

A mother of two from Navy Hill said yesterday that her family looks forward to their child tax credit check, which she expects to be some $800.

“We usually use it to pay for book fees for my children. The total book fee is about $650,” the mother said.

Inos, who oversees government finances, said the rebate and refund checks will be issued months later this year because there’s still not enough in the trust account.

The administration has been prioritizing payroll at a time when it is implementing 16-hour work cuts per pay period and unpaid holidays.

Payroll for non-critical employees are oftentimes delayed since June 2010 as collections come in trickles amid low tourist arrivals and an overall slow economy.

Last year, the Fitial administration mailed out some 10,000 refund checks totaling $6.4 million on July 12, and some $5 million in rebate checks followed days later.

Inos also said that the $7 million in expected checks this year is lower than in previous years because of a reduction in the number of taxpayers as the economy shrinks.

A taxpayer inquired whether the federal stimulus fund called the “Making Work Pay” credit of up to $400 would be included in the rebate or refund checks.

She said this is federally funded so it should be released as soon as the CNMI government receives funding from the federal government, and not wait for the rebate and refund checks’ release in December.

A refund is for tax that has been overpaid or incorrectly paid, and is returned to the taxpayer.

It is different from the rebate, which is for tax properly paid and is subsequently returned to the taxpayer under a rebate provision.