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Obama requested to include US territories in new tax incentives
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Posted on Jan 18 2012
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
Congressional delegates of the five U.S. territories asked President Barack Obama to include the territories in a new tax incentives intended to encourage U.S. companies to create American jobs.
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) joined Puerto Rico Delegate Pedro R. Pierluisi, Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen, and American Samoa Delegate Eni F.H. Faleomavaega in writing the president a Jan. 12 letter about his announcement last week of tax incentives that he will propose in the coming weeks.
“We write to respectfully ask that you work with us to ensure that our constituents are fully and fairly included in any proposal that the Administration puts forward, bearing in mind the unique tax systems that apply in our jurisdictions,” the delegates representing 4.1 million Americans living in the five U.S. territories told the president in a two-page letter.
In the last three years, the Obama administration has established a strong and consistent record of including the U.S. territories in tax-based initiatives designed to strengthen the national economy and reduce unemployment, the delegates said.
Among these are the February 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which included the territories in nearly all of its major provisions, including the Making Work Pay and American Opportunity tax credits.
In March 2010, the territories were also included in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act which, among other things, enabled an employer to take a $1,000 income tax credit for every new employee hired and retained for at least a year.
The territories were also fully and fairly included in all major pillars of the American Jobs Act, which the president transmitted to Congress in September 2011. The tax credit for hiring veterans was enacted into law in November 2011, and it included the territories.
