Tax refunds may be paid within weeks of filing for the first time since the Gutierrez administration thanks to one of Congressman Michael San Nicolas’s chief achievements.
The government of Guam today received a $56 million reimbursement from the federal government for GovGuam’s payment of the federally-mandated earned income (tax) credit. Low-income workers avail of the EITC, when they file their tax returns, often turning owed taxes into a tax refund.
The amount of part-time, seasonal, and low-paid workers has increased substantially since the 1990s. As such, the EITC now makes up a significant portion of GovGuam’s annual tax refunds liability to taxpayers. The federal government has never reimbursed Guam for the cost of paying its EITC, until Mr. San Nicolas convinced Congress to authorize it.
Today marks the very first such payment.
Congressman San Nicolas statement on the receipt of Federal EITC reimbursements
“We are deeply humbled to see Guam realize the receipt of these EITC revenues as a result of actual law passed in Congress, and quietly proud to have been able to work on this for our island and people,” said Congressman San Nicolas.
From the jump, Mr. San Nicolas has advocated for the local government to use the money first to finally catch up on the payment of tax refunds.
“We are further highly satisfied that our efforts to ensure federally that these monies first go to the payment of tax refunds for our people was upheld by the U.S. Treasury, preventing politician agendas from getting in the way of us finally bringing to a close the sad history of tax refund delays that began 20 years ago,” Congressman San Nicolas added.
“It is a firm commitment to delivering actual outcomes for our people, and an unwavering discipline to prevent repeating the mistakes of the past, that must define our expectations of public service now and into the future,” Congressman San Nicolas concludes.
The Leon Guerrero Administration today affirmed this commitment, and promised timely refunds, stating in a news release: “The receipt of the $56.1 million ensures the timely payment of refunds for early filers which the Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Department of Administration will begin processing in the next few days.”
