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Governor disapproves legislation allocating
$1M annual appropriation to DBAS
A Fono bill seeking to provide an annual allocation of $1 million to the Development Bank of American Samoa did not get approval from Governor Togiola Tulafono.
Togiola told the Fono leadership that while he applauds and appreciates the local Legislature’s consideration of DBAS, he does not feel that combining the collection of the funds under the auspices of the Income Tax Reserve fund is appropriate, as it will only cause confusion and difficulty in accountability.
(Under the bill, the funding source for the annual appropriation is the current Income Tax Reserve Account, which is used to fund tax refunds).
In a letter to the Fono, Togiola wrote, “Like you, I am very much supportive of making funds available to DBAS for housing and business loans, and I am in favor of creating a separate funding account to be directed to DBAS for its continuing needs and funded from the same source as the tax reserve fund, but only after the tax reserve fund is fully funded.”
The Governor explained that ASG has contingent liabilities in excess of $1 million of potential tax refunds to at least one company and therefore, ASG needs to have the reserve fund fully funded, considering this liability.
Togiola said that he does not support limiting the use of funds for business loans only, adding that he feels there is a need to give DBAS flexibility to utilize the funds for home loans as well, if the DBAS board determines that there is a critical need in housing rather than commercial enterprise.
The Governor said he is looking forward to working with the local Legislature in July to address the situation through a new measure.
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