By Jacob Nakamura
(Tumon, Guam) Waiting for your tax refund from last year? Don't hold your breath. According to a February 5, 2020 report to the Guam Legislature, at the end of January $617.28 was left in the Income Tax Refund Efficient Payment Trust Fund account at the Bank of Guam.
The administration transfers money into this account monthly, but falls below the threshold required by law, which sets a formula for these deposits based on income taxes paid. The money then is supposed to be transferred into the Income Tax Refund checking account for final disbursal to taxpayers owed refunds from time to time.
According to the bank statement, the trust fund account contained $617.21 on January 1, 2020 and grew interest of 7¢ from the deposit of $3,159,106.13 into the account that was quickly withdrawn during the month. Administration officials do not say whether that entire amount withdrawn was transferred into the tax refund checking account, as the law requires; nor is it known if all the checks written from the tax refund checking account are for tax refunds.
It is estimated that thousands of taxpayers already have filed for their tax year 2019 refunds since tax returns were being accepted on January 27, 2020.
The government of Guam still owes tens of millions of dollars to individual and corporate income tax refund filers for tax year 2018 and prior.
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