“My real concern is not the tax. My real concern is that the decision means that the government of Palau or the president has no right to accord the citizens of the United States and the FSM the ‘Most Favored Nation Clause’ treatment,” he said.
According to Toribiong, this could have serious implications to the special relationship between the U.S. and Palau.
“I am afraid that the decision could be construed that you have lumped the United States into the same level with other countries in the world. Such could have adverse effect on Palauans living in the United Stets,” he said.
Several thousand Palauans are residing in America.
Toribiong said U.S. Ambassador to Palau Helen Reed-Rowe has already expressed her concern about the implications of the ruling.
He said he will meet with Rowe again to discuss the matter.
“If not for this issue I could change the regulation immediately and conform to the ruling,” he added.
The Palau Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the regulation requiring all foreign workers to register and pay a $25 fee.
The court stated that the regulation violates the nonresident workers’ fundamental right to equal protection under the law.
The ruling also stated that only the national legislature, may impose a tax. It added that because the $25 charge constitutes a tax, it is invalid.
A class action lawsuit was earlier filed against the Palau government and Toribiong regarding the legality of his alien registration scheme.
The lawsuit was filed by Bernadette Carreon, a former Palau Horizon reporter, on behalf of herself and the more than 6,000 foreigners in Palau.
The plaintiff argued that the alien registration scheme is a violation of equal protection because it requires certain aliens to register and pay the fee “but exempts similarly situated Americans and Micronesians.”
