Previous Story
Finance to focus on beefing up manpower
The Department of Finance is looking at hiring and training more people for the enforcement of CNMI tax laws, ultimately increasing efficiency.
During Friday’s budget hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Finance Department asked for a budget of $5.4 million in fiscal year 2018—about the same amount as the governor’s proposal.
“We talked a lot about our enforcement plans and [hiring], because we are finally almost fully staffed,” said Secretary Larissa Larson, adding that the department has been understaffed for quite some time.
“Hopefully, with the new staff coming on board, you are going to see a new efficiency out of us,” she said.
Larson plans to hire key positions for the department, including a legal counsel—which baffled committee members, as they asked why the department not put it under the attorney general’s budget.
“We need technical expertise when it comes to legal issues regarding tax. That is one of the issues that we resolved by bringing [in additional people],” said Larson.
Another key position Larson mentioned was the hiring of a director for Revenue and Taxation, a position that has been vacant for over five years. Qualifications for the position has been a constant issue, as Larson said it was more feasible to work in the private sector with those qualifications.
“It takes a special person because when you’re in that division, you are also going after family and friends,” said Larson, adding that the future director of Revenue and Taxation must be strong.
“In a culture like ours where we are very family-oriented, sometimes it is not that easy,” she added.
Either way, Larson assured that the department is working on “training and developing staff” because Larson believes the more they develop their staff, the more efficient the department would be.
“The government is never very efficient, but we’d like to be as efficient as possible,” she said.
