In an interview on Friday, Tenorio, who is seeking a House seat in Precinct 1, said the program was implemented when he was governor.
Seen as an important anti-poverty program, the EIC will make low-income workers feel good about their jobs and encourage unemployed local people to seek employment, Tenorio said.
EIC will lower or eliminate taxes of a qualified worker.
This program was never implemented in the CNMI until he became governor, Tenorio said.
However, it took effect only for two years because his successor discontinued it due to lack of funding.
Based on the federal EIC table, an employee who earns $1,000 a month can get $410 if he or she is either married or single with two children and $78 if has none.
Tenorio said he knows that this cash credit cannot be taken from federal funds because the income tax collected from CNMI workers stays on island.
The taxes collected through Chapter 7 may not be enough to reactivate the EIC, he added.
However, once he becomes House member, Tenorio said he will find the source of local funding to re-implement the EIC.
Jobs, he said, are key to economic recovery.
“It gives people purchasing power. If more people have jobs, business activities will become healthier and this will make the economy better.”
If a majority of the local people have jobs, they will be a huge local market for businesses that may need to expand and create more jobs, he added.
“This is now the time we need this program because our people are suffering,” Tenorio said.
Most locals work for the government because of the low wages offered by the private sector.
