Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig said Friday those who want to get their second stimulus payment via direct deposit will receive the money first than those who want their payments in checks, and that payments may start by Feb. 1, their ideal target date. <\/p>\n
Division of Revenue and Taxation director Tracy Norita also disclosed Friday that they are expecting to get 90% of their total estimate of who will receive the second stimulus or about $42 million in advance transfer from the U.S. Internal Revenue Services. Finance\u2019s initial total estimate is $47 million. <\/p>\n
Speaking at a radio news briefing Friday, Atalig said their goal is to get the direct deposits out first.<\/p>\n
Atalig said the paper checks process is a manual one and that it takes time to sort the checks, affix the stamps, and get them to the post office.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the travel time of the mail, the mail process, and it could take about a week or two when they receive their actual mail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Atalig said the goal is not only to get the money to taxpayers as soon as possible via direct deposit, but they\u2019re also trying to minimize lines at banks. He noted that the community is aware that during the first economic impact payment, or first stimulus, the lines at the Bank of Guam in Garapan was like a mile long. <\/p>\n
Atalig encourages everyone once they open their portal by the end of next week to register for direct deposit of their stimulus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be doing a press release to inform the community that the portal will be open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Norita said at the same radio news briefing that they\u2019re calling the additional 2020 recovery rebate, or the second stimulus, as the economic impact payment 2, or EIP 2.<\/p>\n
Norita said they just received a draft implementation plan from the IRS a few hours ago from that day, Friday, so their team is reviewing that. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn this plan, it details the implementation for the $600 payment for each qualifying person and child,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Norita said the important highlights of the plan include the eligibility, which is similar to the first stimulus. She pointed out that this time around eligibility is based on the 2019 income tax return. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo unlike the first stimulus where we went with your most current return, whether it was the 2018 or 2019, this time, it must be based on your 2019 return,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Norita encourages all those who have yet to file their 2019 tax to file that right away if they want to get the second stimulus payment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are reviewing the implementation plan. And we\u2019re looking to have the Treasury\u2019s approval and execution by at least Jan. 20,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The director said there is a time difference between the CNMI and Washington, D.C. and there are a couple of federal holidays being observed this week. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so we\u2019re trying our best to have our plan approved and sentd to them by the end of day today, so that hopefully gives them enough time to execute and approve the plan as soon as possible,\u201d Norita said.<\/p>\n
For the second stimulus, there are no offsets from the first stimulus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you got an overpayment on your first stimulus payment, that will not be offset on your second stimulus. You will get the full $600,\u201d Norita said.<\/p>\n
She said their portal for the second stimulus in their website is currently being developed. She encourages everyone that would like to receive their payment through direct deposit, to use that portal. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to submit your bank information for us to give you a direct deposit payment, if you have not already submitted one or submitted your bank information on your 2019 return, we would either go with the bank information on the return that you provided on your 2019 [filing] or what information you provide through the portal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Norita acknowledged that there has been a delay in the launch of the portal due to some technical issues that had to do with their hardware. \u201cBut now the replacement parts have been received. And our IT team is on it. And we\u2019re hoping to test and have the portal up and running by the end of next week,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Back to the implementation plan, Norita said they are hoping that once it\u2019s approved, funds will be transferred to Finance in two to three days from the date of approval. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so ideally we\u2019re hoping that this happens in the next two to three weeks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Upon approval of the plan, IRS will be transferring 90% of their estimate, or $42 million in advance transfer. \u201cThat will allow us to issue payments as soon as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Norita also reminded that all payments have ceased for the first stimulus, which had a deadline of Dec. 31, 2020.<\/p>\n
She said for some reason a taxpayer has lost or damaged his or her check and needs to have it reissued, they are no longer reissuing the first stimulus payment. \u201cYou have to claim your EIP 1 or your first stimulus on your 2020 [income tax] return,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n
Norita reminded the public that they are anticipating issuing at least over 30,000 payments to taxpayers for the second stimulus, which is the same number that they had from the first stimulus. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so I just asked for patience,\u201d she said, adding that there are some that have to be manually processed. \u201cAnd just keep in mind that we do have staff at our Treasury Office that will be working very hard to print these checks, put them in envelopes, and get them out to the mail so that you can receive them as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norita said the manual process takes time so it\u2019s the reason why they encourage everyone to get into the portal and submit their bank information, so they will be getting a direct deposit payment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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