All Rise application period opens September 1

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has ordered the Department of Revenue and Taxation to begin accepting applications for the All Rise local stimulus program September 1 and until the $30 million she is earmarking for the program is exhausted. She is allowing qualified taxpayers to receive either $800 for single filers, or $1,600 for joint filers. According to Executive Order No. 2021-18, which she issued Friday, DRT must process payment to qualified recipients within two weeks of their accepted application, so long as there is money.

The following is the relevant language of her order:

The Department of Revenue and Taxation (“DRT”) shall be responsible for administration of the ALL-RISE program, including the development of an application process that includes the following eligibility requirements:

1. Individuals must have a validly filed and processed Guam income tax return for tax year 2020 with adjusted gross income of no more than Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000) in the case of an individual return or no more than Eighty Thousand Dollars ($80,000) in the case of a joint return.
2. Individuals must certify that their household experienced aa negative economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and that they were residents of Guam in 2020.
3. Individuals must submit a Form 8821 or equivalent to the DRT.
4. Individuals must elect to receive payments under this program in lieu of any payments that may be available under the RISE Act, Executive Order No. 2021-11, and Bill Nos. 75-36 and 164-36.
5. Based on these eligibility requirements, the DRT shall develop an application process and begin accepting applications no later than September 1, 2021. DRT shall make every effort to process payments to eligible individuals no later than two (2) weeks from the date of verification of eligibility.

Cash assistance under the ALL-RISE Program shall be Eight Hundred Dollars ($800) for individual filers and Sixteen Hundred Dollars ($1,600) for joint filers.

The DRT is to provide a system of reporting, to include auditable certification, to ensure accountability.

Amounts paid under this Program are to assist individuals and families who have experienced adverse economic impact as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are not income and not subject to local income taxation.