‘Legislature should act to find money for retirees’ 25% pension’

The Legislature should act soon, considering that there is no $13 million in casino Business Gross Revenue Tax collection in fiscal year 2023 to pay the 25% pension of government retirees, according to Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig.

Atalig said in an interview Thursday that he mentioned to the Legislature that the 25% pension for the retirees is being funded this year with the use of the community disaster loan the CNMI received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said this use of the loan is allowable and is part of the CNMI’s spending plan for that loan.

That loan expires this Sept. 30, Atalig said, so after that date, the CNMI does not have any casino BGRT collections in the new fiscal year, as Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC has not been operating.

Atalig

“That money [casino BGRT] is supposed to go to pay for the retirees pension. It’s about $13 million,” he said.

Atalig said he has been sharing that information for the last year—that the CNMI is doing fine in fiscal year 2022, but the Legislature needs to act for fiscal year 2023.

“We cannot just pass something and realize revenue. I asked that they increase the sin tax, like cigarettes, soda,” he said, adding that there’s also a luxury tax.

“There’s probably other opportunities to generate more revenue. But we need the Legislature to do that,” he said.

Atalig said there is a bill in the House that was passed specifically for health care and that increased the cigarette tax or tobacco tax, but he believes the legislation identifies the use of the additional funds for it.

He said that bill is not going to help the 25% pension for the retirees unless they revise that bill to say any additional revenues collected will be segregated specifically for the 25%.

Atalig said that $13 million is needed for retirees’ one full year of pension so they need to find other resources or maybe reduce some areas of the budget that can be allocated for it. He said this will probably be discussed with the House Ways and Means Committee in the upcoming budget review.

“We hope that we can see additional resources coming through, now that our borders are open and I hope that tourists will start coming back and hopefully will generate additional revenue that we can allocate from the general fund for the 25%,” Atalig said.

In the meantime, the current law of the casino BGRT is specific for the retirees 25% pension, unless the Legislature does something or pass a new law that generates new revenues that will be for that purpose.

IPI closed its casino in Garapan starting March 17, 2020, as part of the efforts to control the COVID-19 outbreak. The Commonwealth Casino Commission board indefinitely suspended IPI’s casino gaming license until it complies with CCC’s orders pertaining to five complaints filed by the CCC executive director.