Diaz, in a phone interview Sunday, said the purpose of the bill is to bring more foreign workers to Palau and to increase the revenues of the State.
There are currently more than 6, 000 foreign workers working here in Palau.
Foreign workers in Palau include Filipinos, Japanese, Bangladeshis, Americans, Russians, British, Taiwanese, South Koreans, Indians and Chinese.
Diaz said that he expects that 2,000 to 3, 000 more dependents and foreign workers will troop to this island republic once the bill will be approved.
The senator said that such an influx of foreign workers will be good for the Republic and its people.
“The Olbiil Era Kelulau finds that the National Government must increase its local revenues in order to attain fiscal balance. The Olbiil Era Kelulau finds that if the annual income requirement for bringing a dependent into the country were lowered more foreign workers would likely enter the country to work, and that having more foreign workers in the country would result in a larger consumer and tax base,” the resolution reads.
“The Olbiil Era Kelulau finds that a larger tax base would increase the overall government revenue,” it added.
Diaz then pointed out that having their dependents around would also help foreign workers in terms of morale.
“When you return home from work and see your spouse or children you feel much better,” he said.
The Diaz bill states that a foreign worker only need to have an annual income of $7,000 for him to qualify bringing over a dependent to Palau.
Previously, a foreign worker must have an annual income of $15,000 before he can bring a dependent to the country.
“That requirement was too high for most of the foreign workers and that deterred them from bringing over their dependents here,” Diaz pointed out.
“The fact moved me to introduce said bill in the Senate,” he added.
The bill further states that an income requirement can be satisfied by combining the income of a husband and wife who desire to bring in a minor child.
The bill provides that dependents shall be limited to spouse and children and that aside from the income requirement, the non-resident worker’s employer consent is also required before the Division of Labor will issue a dependent entry permit.
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