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‘Call Finance to settle tax rebates’
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Posted on Nov 08 2019
The Department of Finance is urging residents who have not received their tax rebates to call the Division of Revenue and Taxation to clarify the delay since the department is only holding back checks for those who still have tax issues.
Finance Secretary David Atalig urged residents yesterday to reach out to the Division of Revenue and Taxation for assistance on the release of their tax rebates.
“We have paid all taxes due except those that have issues with their tax returns,” Atalig said, adding that issues with documentation are a common reason for tax rebate check delays. “We are uploading and paying in weekly batches for those that have cleared their tax issues.”
The Finance Department released the first batch of tax rebates, which amounted to about $7.48 million, last Sept. 18. The second batch of tax rebates, amounting to about $2.1 million, was released in late October 2019.
In total, tax rebates for fiscal year 2018 total nearly $21 million, with $11 million for the federally funded child tax rebates.
Atalig previously affirmed that the tax refund money was temporarily used for Super Typhoon Yutu recovery, causing a delay in the release of the annual tax rebates for fiscal year 2018. Tax rebates are usually distributed around the end of May or early July.
“…With the governor’s emergency declaration for the response and recovery of Super Typhoon Yutu, all monies were used to get us through. Unfortunately, we were not reimbursed as quickly as anticipated, therefore I couldn’t replenish it to the levels needed for the full refund,” Atalig previously said.
He also noted in a previous interview that the recent Typhoon Bualoi also delayed the second batch’s release.
“I’m not holding any tax refunds. In fact, it has been my goal to have monies paid out so it can circulate into the economic system on island,” he told Saipan Tribune yesterday.
Those who still have issues with their tax rebates can check with the Division of Revenue and Taxation at 664-1000.
