By Eric Rosario
Congressman Michael San Nicolas wants the legislature and the governor to get rid of the business privilege tax and return income taxes to taxpayers in the upcoming fiscal year if GovGuam gets the $1.17 billion in direct aid funding from Congress.
"We can zero out the BPT at a time when businesses are struggling and we need to help them to survive," Mr. San Nicolas said. "We can even create income tax rebates."
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass a new coronavirus relief package that is $1 trillion less than the previous package the Senate refused to pass, mainly due to the cost of the last package.
Part of the current package includes $1.17 billion in direct aid to the government of Guam. This is exactly 10 times more than the amount GovGuam received in the original CARES Act.
According to Mr. San Nicolas, GovGuam can use the funds to replace foregone revenues and to respond to the negative economic impacts of COVID.
