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House bill junked due to objection from judiciary
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Posted on Oct 18 2000
Due to strong objection by the judicial branch, the House of Representatives has scrapped legislation that would have stepped up monitoring of all taxable transfers of real estate in the CNMI.
The bill had proposed to make the Commonwealth Recorders Office as a tax enforcement agency of the Division of Taxation and Revenue, a move opposed by Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan.
“This additional assignment of duties is contrary to the Commonwealth Recorder’s Act,” according to the report from the House Ways and Means Committee which recommended its scrapping.
Sponsored by Rep. Jesus T. Attao, the measure sought to require documents submitted to the Commonwealth Recorder to describe fully the money and other consideration paid or to be paid.
It would also have provided evidence of the withholding of gross revenue tax on such transfers, thus enabling the taxation and revenue division to closely monitor all taxable transfers.
The division in turn would be able to facilitate collection of the business gross revenue tax upon transfers of certain CNMI real property interests and to prevent loss of tax revenue due to non-compliance, according to the bill.
Mr. Attao’s proposal also called for penalty of up to five years imprisonment for those found guilty of perjury on the disclosure of the total amount of money paid or to be paid.
Failure to fully disclose or giving incorrect information in the documents would have also constituted a violation. Any violation would have had to pay 25 percent of any undisclosed amount as penalty in addition to any tax due, including interest. (BS)
