Bills aim to help individuals with special needs, tax credit for monetary donations

Thomas John Dela Cruz Manglona

Rep. Thomas John Dela Cruz Manglona (R-Saipan) has introduced a bill that seeks to provide tax incentives for employers who hire individuals with special needs, and a legislation that aims to establish a tax credit for monetary donations/contributions to public hospitals and/or clinics.

Manglona said yesterday that if House Bill 23-35 and 23-39 are enacted, these pieces of legislation will help provide for more inclusion for community members with disabilities in the workforce and help to give more necessary assistance for public hospitals and clinics, while also providing incentives to businesses who support these causes.

“I wanted the first set of bills that I introduced to be meaningful and have a positive impact on our community,” said the neophyte lawmaker in a statement.

Manglona said it takes everyone in the community to work together to create positive impacts, and that he is extremely blessed to be in a position to help spark these changes.

Under House Bill 23-35, a new section is added to the Commonwealth Code to provide a long-term disability employment tax credit.

House Bill 23-39 would add a new section to the Commonwealth Code that would establish the Healthcare Contribution Tax Credit.

With respect to House Bill 23-35, Manglona stated that this legislation addresses issues regarding discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications for people with disabilities.

He said it gives similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics.

The lawmaker said many individuals with disabilities in the CNMI are eager and determined to be part of the workforce. He said it would be appropriate to provide incentives for employers to hire these individuals. He said a nonrefundable tax credit will give these businesses an incentive to provide a suitable platform for this special group of individuals to showcase their skills and feel empowered to be positive contributions to society.

With respect to H.B. 23-39, Manglona stated that throughout the years, businesses in the Commonwealth have been able and are willing to make generous donations to causes that would benefit the communities. He said it would be exceptionally imperative to provide incentives for businesses to make cash donations/contributions to facilities that are dedicated to serving the community. Such incentive would include a tax credit for the cash donations/contributions, Manglona said

He said with these generous endowments, the recipient hospitals and/or clinics can use the funds to improve their facilities and services for the betterment of future patients to come.

As a result of these tax credits, Manglona said, both the business donors and the hospital/clinic facilities will mutually benefit from each other, further yielding medical benefit for future generations to come.