Senate Committee on Ways and Means vice chairman Sen. Joel Toribiong said members of the panel and their House counterpart will be going into a conference committee to iron out the kinks.
Toribiong said the conference committee will commence “as soon as possible.”
The House of Delegates in a special session on Saturday passed on third and final reading the proposed Fiscal Year 2010 supplemental budget, the measure approved by the House supported some of the recommended tax increases.
The HOD also increased the amount of the budget including pay hikes for the president, vice president and the ministers.
The Senate version meanwhile scrapped all proposed raise in taxes and reduced the amount of the supplemental budget.
The senators voted to tackle the tax reform instead in a separate bill.
The House version supported an increase in the departure tax paid by Palauans from $10 to $20. It also approved the recommendation that all non- Palauan passport holders will also be paying the green fee.Under the present statute, visitors will pay $35 departure tax which includes the $$15 green fee.
The delegates also agreed with the president that an additional four percent tax should be imposed on employees earning over $25,000 a year.
This provision however will only be imposed for a year. Currently employees collecting salaries ranging from $8,000 and above yearly pay a 12 percent tax.
The house meanwhile proposed an additional three percent import tax on all imported items except for medical supplies and medicines. The president proposed only a one percent raise.
The president’s version proposed a scuba diving tax of five dollars per dive for divers,the house version only included $1 increase.
For the proposed pay hike, the president’s salary will be raised from $50,000 to $90,000 a year; Vice president from $45,000 to $65,000 and Ministers from $30,000 to $50,000.
The House also reduced the Senate’s budget from $1,755,000 to 1,579,500 while the House increased their budget from $1,758,000 to $1,882,200.
The Senate version did not approve of increases.
