YOUTH Senator Aden Chonne H. Calvo of Rota has introduced Youth Congress Bill 19-3 which would increase the excise tax on soft drinks and ad valorem tax on “foodstuffs,” fertilizers and other agriculture commodities to fund the Youth Community Gardens.
Calvo also introduced Y.C.B. 19-2 to require the Department of Public Lands to designate lands for the Youth Community Gardens on Rota, Tinian and Saipan.
Y.C.B. 19-3 would impose the following excise taxes:
• One-half of one cent ($0.005) per fluid ounce or fractional equivalent on soft drinks;
• 1% ad valorem on “foodstuffs”; and
• 2% ad valorem on commodities used in agriculture, such as fertilizers, seed, animal feeds, pesticides, herbicides, farm equipment, machinery, tools, irrigation equipment and accessories.
Y.C.B. 19-3 proposes to reserve 50% of these taxes for the Youth Community Gardens. The earmarked funds shall be deposited in an account separate from the general funds to be appropriated by the Legislature strictly for the Youth Community Gardens.
The bill states that “it would be substantially beneficial to the CNMI to fund the Youth Community Gardens, a CNMI-wide agricultural program that is primarily maintained by the youth community.”
Its gardens would “give the CNMI youth the opportunity to experience agricultural practices and witness first-hand the importance of agriculture and the value of the industry.”
Bills passed by the Youth Congress are forwarded to the governor and the presiding officers of the Legislature “for disposition.”
