Poll: Tax Me, Tax Me Not, Tax Me!

Tax me. Tax me not. Tax me.

I guess the Tinian mayor was plucking petals to decide whether his opinion would go for taxing guest workers' remittances to their home countries. According to Marianas Variety report that this suggestion was in lieu of an alternative means to save local and guest workers to be retrenched from companies.

So cast your votes now on our newest poll ------------->

The Reveler

Tax the alien's remittances?

Is it out of sheer desperation or out of mere creativity from the CNMI lawmakers to tap the remittances of the non-resident workers and tax them to increase the local government's depleting revenue? This letter to the editor we extracted from Saipan Tribune, might be worth sharing for many:

About permanent aliens

Dear Mr. Jose and anyone who supports his idea,

I picked up the papers in Wednesday morning to read some depressing news about the economy of Saipan. I was thoroughly prepared to read about the exit of garment factories, pullout of more airlines, and even rampant light bulb theft-the sister industry of copper wire theft. I was even prepared to read about war on Iran and Hillary Clinton's rise to the throne, to win my bet. However, I must be frank in professing that I was ill-prepared for your proposition of taxing remittances at 21.5 percent. Although I do not write these types of public letters, the ridiculousness of your proposition prompted me to furiously grab my pen, in utter case that the entire island remains reticent to irrationality.

Aside from the fact that these remittances are hard-earned money already taxed by the CNMI government under the umbrella of income tax, large-scale remittances is merely a symptom of a deeper divide. Mr. Jose, I refer you to the reason why remittances occur. I put the spotlight on our entire legal landscape designed to mold Saipan into a place to work and leave, not as a place to settle and live. First, we, foreigners and American citizens alike, no matter how long we have lived here, cannot own land, which does not quite promote investment in Saipan. For, how can we sprout our roots into Saipan, when the legal landscape of CNMI is as chalky as the soil itself? Second, we, foreigners, are considered permanent aliens, no matter how long we have inhabited on Saipan, despite even the snobby Romans gave their slaves their right to earn their citizenship and become naturalized into their society. How can we call Saipan our home with such hostile legal environment? Who can we blame but ourselves for the lack of investment?

As oxymoronic it may sound, the very attitude of our land, our harvest is what hampers the CNMI from attracting new investment. Perhaps, as you said, it is time for an overhaul. An oil change will not do.

Yuri Yamamoto
Tokyo, Japan

The Reveler