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Guam govt OK’d to sell lots to pay off $3.7M in taxes
TAMUNING, Guam—In a judgment on Wednesday last week, the federal court entered a $3.7-million judgment in favor of the Guam government, allowing the government to sell of an individual’s properties to collect on owed taxes.
The case went to trial in mid-July on the issue of a defendant’s failure to pay taxes from 1999 through 2002. The judgement authorizes the Guam government to foreclose on six properties owned by the defendant, with 50% of the proceeds to pay the owed taxes.
“This is not just a paper judgment,” said deputy attorney general Kenneth Orcutt. “There are actual assets that the [Guam] government will use to satisfy the debt owed by the taxpayer to the people of Guam.”
“I congratulate the work of the Attorney General’s Office in pursuing this case to the end. We all must respect our responsibility to pay taxes,” said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero. “Our tax enforcement team, under the leadership of DRT director Dafne Shimizu, put in countless hours to ensure that the government was prepared for this case. I’m grateful for their hard work and their continued diligence in pursuing the collection of taxes.”
DRT’s Tax Enforcement Team consists of deputy tax commissioner Paul Pablo, Taxpayer Service administrator Lawrence Terlaje, Jean Flores, Katrina Charfauros, Judith Rios, Annie Duenas, and Maria Celino.
Orcutt, assistant attorney general Happy Rons, and paralegal Brenda Aguon handled the matter for the Office of the Attorney General. (PR)
