DEAR Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds:
I am writing on behalf of taxpayers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam regarding a critical situation where postal delays are severely compromising taxpayer rights and compliance capabilities in the territories. Through direct work with residents and businesses, I have witnessed firsthand how USPS service decisions are creating an insurmountable barrier to basic constitutional rights and due process for U.S. citizens in the territories.
The current mail delivery timeframes between the continental United States and the islands have created an untenable and discriminatory situation. While the IRS provides 30-day response windows for various notices, these critical documents frequently arrive in Guam or the CNMI with merely five days remaining — and in numerous documented cases, after the deadlines have already expired. This systematic failure effectively creates two classes of U.S. citizens: those on the mainland with full response rights, and those in the territories who are denied these same fundamental protections.
The impact of these delays is starkly illustrated by the Employee Retention Credit or ERC situation. Several members of the community have completely missed their 30-day response deadlines for ERC Information Document Requests from the IRS due to postal delays, resulting in a forfeiture of their claim or forcing them to hire a tax practitioner to file an appeal on their behalf.
The situation is particularly dire in certain areas of the CNMI where mail service is severely limited. While mainland U.S. citizens enjoy six-day delivery schedules, residents on the islands of Tinian and Rota in the CNMI receive mail delivery only twice per week. This drastically reduced service creates additional barriers for U.S. taxpayers residing in Guam and the CNMI, effectively cutting their already shortened response windows even further. When combined with the existing delays in cross-Pacific mail delivery, these limited delivery schedules make it virtually impossible for residents to meet federal deadlines.
In the coming days, I will be providing letters from several local business owners who have expressed their deep concerns about these postal delays and how it has adversely hurt them or their business. Their firsthand accounts further illustrate how these systematic issues are impacting the local economies and threatening the survival of small businesses throughout the islands.
The consequences of these delays extend far beyond economic impact. When Notices of Intent to Levy arrive late, taxpayers can face unexpected seizures of their assets, including bank account monies necessary to cover payroll and other expenses, without any genuine opportunity to respond. When 90-day letters for U.S. Tax Court petitions arrive with just days remaining in the response window, taxpayers lose their only pre-payment judicial forum.
This makes litigation practically impossible for most CNMI and Guam taxpayers, as they must then pay disputed taxes upfront and file a Refund Suit in the appropriate U.S. District Court — a financial burden that most taxpayers cannot bear. The impact cascades through Collection Due Process hearing requests, examination responses, and appeals — each delay creating ripple effects that can take years to resolve and devastate families and businesses in the process.
The most urgent step toward ensuring equal protection under the law is guaranteeing all U.S. taxpayers have their Taxpayer Bill of Rights protected, including having the same effective timeframes to respond as U.S. taxpayers residing stateside. We implore you to bring these mail delivery challenges to the attention of the appropriate congressional committees and the USPS Board of Governors. Any further degradation of USPS services will only exacerbate this already critical situation, effectively denying basic constitutional rights to U.S. citizens based solely on their geographic location within the territories. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights guarantees taxpayers’ rights to:
1) Be Informed,
2) Quality Service,
3) Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax,
4) Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard,
5) Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum,
6) Finality,
7) Privacy,
8) Confidentiality,
9) Retain Representation, and
10) A Fair and Just Tax System.
While Guam and the CNMI face other significant challenges with tax administration — including the absence of Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics and IRS service hours that do not align with the Chamorro time zone — addressing the mail delivery crisis must be the first priority.
Due to the infrequency of mail delivery and the absence of IRS service hours that align with the Chamorro time zone, Guam and CNMI taxpayers are prevented from exercising their taxpayer rights. For the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to be meaningful, taxpayers need reliable communication channels and reasonable access to IRS assistance. When mail delivery delays prevent timely receipt of IRS correspondence, taxpayers lose their right to be informed since they do not receive notices about their tax obligations or deadlines with enough time to take appropriate action.
The delayed delivery eliminates the response window that the IRS is required to provide, undermining the fairness of the process. The limited IRS customer service hours prevent taxpayers from receiving quality service since they cannot access assistance during reasonable hours. This impacts their right to be informed since taxpayers cannot get timely answers to their questions. Further, the taxpayer’s right to retain representation is affected since tax professionals also struggle to reach the IRS on behalf of their clients.
The limited IRS mailing compounded with limited IRS phone service in Guam and the CNMI affects taxpayers’ rights to appeal IRS decisions in an independent forum and to challenge IRS positions and be heard since deadlines are often missed due to mail delays.
Knowing your passionate advocacy for the territories and your dedication to ensuring equal treatment for all U.S. citizens, we call on you to spotlight these critical mail delivery issues affecting Guam and the CNMI. You are uniquely positioned to champion this necessary change, and your voice is crucial in working with the USPS and IRS to establish appropriate accommodations that reflect the geographic realities of the Pacific territories while protecting the fundamental rights of their taxpayers. We look forward to working with you to ensure our taxpayers receive equitable treatment in federal tax administration.
Our team stands ready to provide any additional information, data, or assistance you may need to address this ongoing USPS issue that is causing infringement on Guam and CNMI based U.S. taxpayer rights. We can facilitate meetings with affected business owners, provide detailed documentation of delivery delays, or support your office in any other way that would be helpful in resolving these systemic problems. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at any time.
