First tranche of tax refunds out Friday

The first batch of tax refund checks will be out by tomorrow, Sept. 13, 2019, according to a Torres administration statement yesterday

Taxpayers who have filed their taxes with no errors on or before April 15, 2019, can expect a tax refund check in their mailboxes this Friday, said Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig.

In a statement late afternoon yesterday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres thanked the CNMI public for their patience and reiterated his administration’s commitment to releasing tax refunds, tax rebates, and child tax as soon as they become available.

“I want to sincerely thank our community for their patience. Getting these tax refund checks into your hands has always been a priority, and we are very pleased we are now able to do it so that our people and their families can use it to meet their most immediate needs, spend it within our economy, or save up for future use,” said Torres in the statement.

“We are committed to releasing tax refund checks for every taxpayer,” he added.

The statement also quoted Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios expressing appreciation to the Department of Finance, Revenue and Taxation, CNMI Treasury, and Electronic Data Processing for getting this first batch of tax refund checks out.

“We understand that it took some time to release checks, and we appreciate the community’s patience. We look forward to the release of the additional checks for our community within the coming weeks,” Palacios added.

According to Finance’s Atalig, the first batch is composed of taxpayers who filed their taxes on time and are clear of any errors and fees.

“This first batch will cover taxpayers who filed on or before April 15, 2019. If you are not in this first batch, it may mean that the taxpayer did not file by April 15 or there were some issues from prior year tax filings or errors within this year’s filing. We remind our community to clear those prior year items as soon you can with our Division of Revenue and Taxation,” he said.

Atalig thanked Finance personnel under the Division of Revenue and Taxation, CNMI Treasury, and Division of Electronic Data Processing for ensuring that the checks are processed accurately and as quickly as possible.

“We are excited for the release of these funds so that our community can increase spending in our economy and meet important needs. That’s what it’s all about, and this administration wants to help in anyway we can,” Atalig added.

He noted that all refunds in this first batch, including Tinian and Rota, will be released in the mail by Friday.

The Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance, through its media partners, will notify the public of the next release dates as they become available. (PR/Saipan Tribune)