By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE Attorney General’s Office will assist the Department of Revenue and Taxation in collecting past due taxes expected to bring $115 million into the government of Guam’s treasury, the governor’s office disclosed yesterday.
“It is reassuring to know that the AGO will be working collaboratively with the administration to aggressively collect and enforce Guam’s tax laws,” Gov. Felix P. Camacho stated in a March 30 letter to Attorney General Alicia Limtiaco.
Revenue and Taxation director Art Ilagan said the AGO will provide legal assistance and services to his department in investigating tax fraud, handling tax audits and prosecuting criminal cases including those currently being litigated in courts.
“The AGO will also help us in setting policies, and provide us legal advice relating to tax laws and opinions on tax matters,” Ilagan told Variety.
Camacho said the partnership between the AGO and the administration will address the lack of legal enforcement of the provisions of the Guam Territorial Income Tax, Business Privilege Tax and Real Property Tax Laws.
“The Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Attorney General’s Office became proactive to solve this problem and began discussing how the two agencies can enforce tax collections,” a press release from the governor’s office said.
Camacho earlier this year signed into law an unfunded bill that establishes the Office of the Territorial Tax Attorney within DRT.
Ilagan said the creation of the legal office would cost between $200,000 and $400,000, which he said his department doesn’t have. “We’ve been trying to hire an attorney but we can’t afford it due to our financial limitations,” he said.
Camacho, meanwhile, said the recovery of $115 million in taxes owed to the government can be used for public schools, the hospital and for public safety.
The governor expressed gratitude to Limtiaco for “the assistance your office has been providing to the administration including this matter,” adding that he looks forward to the AGO’s “continued cooperation.”
Besides the increased tax collection, DRT has also launched the 2007 tax amnesty program, which applies to tax periods ending in Dec. 31, 2005 and prior years. “This is part of our revenue-generating initiatives,” Ilagan said.