Saipan to introduce five percent gaming tax

A Saipan legislator has introduced a bill that would impose a five percent tax on all gaming revenues in the CNMI, Saipan Tribune reports.

Named the House Bill 20-31 and introduced by Vice Speaker Janet U. Maratita, the bill would see the new tax come into effect in two years time.

“Indeed, the CNMI government has been incurring a budget deficit since it first became a Commonwealth in 1978 and then governor Carlos S. Camacho ended his term in 1982 with a $5 million deficit,” Maratita wrote on the HB 20-31.

“The exclusive license fee that is paid currently is arguably a fair price for a legal monopoly, but even an entity that enjoys exclusive gaming rights should be paying their fair share of taxes,” she said, adding that the new gaming industry is largely untaxed.

Latest Intelligence

Latest issue

PATA CEO sees slow recovery, but optimism for future

AGB Podcasts