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Maratita wants 5 pct. tax on gaming revenue
Vice Speaker Janet U. Maratita (R-Saipan) has introduced a bill that would impose a 5-percent tax on all gaming revenues in the CNMI.
House Bill 20-31 was among the 37 legislative measures that were introduced in yesterday’s first session of the House of Representatives on Capital Hill.
HB 20-31 was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means chaired by Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan). HB 20-31, if it becomes a law, would take effect after 24 months or two years.
Maratita’s bill, in terms of actual revenues and expenditures, found out that the government actually overspent in the past fiscal years, which amounted from $800,000 in the early 1980s to several millions of dollars in the more recent fiscal years.
“Indeed, the CNMI government has been incurring a budget deficit since it first became a Commonwealth in 1978 and then governor Carlos S. Camacho ended his term in 1982 with a $5 million deficit,” Maratita wrote on the HB 20-31.
The deficit jumped to $87.9 million at the end of fiscal year 2001 and after one year went over $100 million at $104.4 million.
She said the new gaming industry is largely un-taxed and it is about time they are taxed in a fair and reasonable manner. “The exclusive license fee that is paid currently is arguably a fair price for a legal monopoly, but even an entity that enjoys exclusive gaming rights should be paying their fair share of taxes.”
