In an interview yesterday, Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan said revenue generating measures will help the government reduce its deficit.
When all the deficit-reduction efforts are done, Demapan is optimistic these will help the government realize savings.
That is why, he added, they support the Legislature’s revenue generating measures “provided that the provisions of those measures are in the best interest of the commonwealth and all the stakeholders.”
“We welcome all the revenue generating measures [that] would benefit the government and the private sector,” he said.
Demapan said revenue generating bills have not reached the administration yet, so they don’t have detailed information about them.
“But when it gets here, we will conduct a thorough review, look at the pros and cons of it before we determine whether it will be approved or disapproved,” he added.
Demapan said the administration is not in favor of increasing taxes.
“We are in favor of revenue-generating ideas but we would like to stay away from increasing taxes because we don’t want to pass the buck entirely to the taxpayers,” he said.
Rep. Eliceo D. Cabrera, R-Saipan, said that from the very beginning, they already knew that the governor “hates to see any tax increases.”
House Bill 17-55, the casino measure which the House leadership believes will bring in new revenue, was killed by the Senate.
Cabrera’s H.B. 17-40, which seeks to increase business license fees, was passed by the Senate but was amended to reduce the proposed fee increases and impose tax increases.
The bill is now with the House again.
