Saipan’s CNMI Division of Revenue and Taxation collection branch has filed a tax lien notice against Imperial Pacific International LLC in Superior Court and the District Court for the Northern Marianas Islands.
The division maintains that IPI has an unpaid balance of $176,880.70. The figure represents business gross revenue tax monthly return and employer’s quarterly withholding, according to collections manager Richard Santos.
Santos said in a press statement that a demand for payment has been made, but it remains unpaid.
“Therefore, there is a lien in favor of the CNMI on all property and rights to property belonging to the taxpayer for the amount of these taxes and any additional penalties, interest, and costs that may accrue,” the notice stated.
From January to March 2020, the Division of Revenue and Taxation assessed that IPI has an unpaid balance of $169,388.94 in employer’s withholding tax. In addition, IPI has an unpaid $7,491.76 BGRT for the tax period ended June 30, the division said in a press release.
In a previous lien, the division said IPI owed the CNMI government $9,416,887.09 in unpaid business gross revenue taxes.
In a related matter, attorney Aaron Halegua told Marianas Variety that IPI has not complied with a federal court order to pay attorneys’ fees in the amount of $93,834.25.
Halegua represents seven construction workers who sued IPI and its contractor and subcontractor MCC International, LLC, and Gold Mantis Construction Decoration over alleged labor and other violations.
In a previous order, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI cited IPI for failing to fully comply with various discovery requirements related to such matters as producing bank records, employee separation dates, and paper discovery. Manglona directed IPI to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in the amount of $93,834.25 by Sept. 24, 2020, the paper reported. That date was extended by b30 days, but Halegua said the plaintiffs have still not received the payment.
IPI did not comment to the paper.
