by Ken Wetmore, KUAM News Friday, June 11, 2004 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

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In March of this year, Governor's chief of staff Tony Sanchez told Department of Revenue and Taxation acting director John Camacho to pay the Earned Income Tax Credit to a single taxpayer. Yesterday, Sanchez told KUAM News he ordered the payout because the taxpayer was in a financial tight spot and desperately needed the money.

Sanchez said it has always been the Camacho Administration's position that the EITC should be paid and said others who are owed the EITC can go to Revenue & Taxation and fill out a hardship request, and if it is granted, receive the EITC.

The decision to start paying out the tax credit by the Administration comes at the same time that the Guam Attorney General is in the District Court fighting a class action lawsuit trying to legally force the payout of more than $100,000,000 to thousands of local taxpayers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. However as of today only one taxpayer has received the tax credit.

If you've been wondering who the first taxpayer in six years to receive the EITC is, KUAM News discovered the answer in an exclusive interview.

Joe Budomo has been fighting for the last six years to receive what he believes he is owed, namely the Earned Income Tax Credit. He said, "I followed it ever since [Speaker Ben] Pangelinan took our government to court when the former governor [Carl] Gutierrez was in office, and pretty much I kept following it because one is the Director of Revenue is bound by a law to pay it to eligible taxpayers that have a low income."

Armed with the court decision and documents from the Legislature proving that Guam's law making body had made provisions so the Earned Income Tax Credit could be paid, Budomo visited everyone from the director of the Revenue & Tax to the Speaker of the Legislature, lobbying to receive the tax credit. And finally, this past March after the death of his mother-in-law, Budomo says he visited Governor's chief of staff Tony Sanchez, who then ordered the payment of the Earned Income Tax Credit to Budomo.

There is an interesting twist however. While the Administration is claiming they made a policy call to start paying the Earned Income Tax Credit - especially in hardship cases - it appears they didn't want it publicized. KUAM News reminded Budomo that during the initial stages of our investigation we called him and inquired if he indeed had received the Earned Income Tax Credit, further reminding him that he had first said he had not, essentially contradicting the now-revealed facts. We then asked why he acted in such a way. He responded by saying, "I was in a kind of busy situation that day you called, and I was doing a lot of things and I had a lot of stuff in my mind, so I wasn't really concentrating on what you were talking about."

Again, we alluded to the fact that several times during the same phone conversation, we asked for confirmation if he had received EITC, to which he implied that he was told to keep the matter under wraps. He confirmed this latter point, saying, "Yeah, its true. But I know I haven't leaked anything out, I know you guys are the ones who found out; you guys are the one that contacted me."

Further prodding on the point of keeping the matter hush-hush, Budomo admitted, "They just said, 'Just don't, you know, advertise it.' You know what I mean by advertise? Like go out and have other people like me giving them documents; that's for them to go and get it themself, [sic] like I did." He further confessed, "I had a problem - if you need to get documents from your senators and any place else, just go down and ask your senator for it."

We then asked if the caveat to remain silent was the real motivation behind him not telling us up front that he had received, citing the fact that he had been told not to tell. Budomo's response? "Yeah, just to keep it on the down low, nai."

Budomo says he was told to keep it on the down low by an employee at the Department of Revenue and Taxation, who he refused to identify, although he said it was neither the director or deputy director. However upon further questioning, Budomo said it wasn't just an employee at Rev & Tax who was interested in the payout not being made public.

He recalled his conversation with Governor's chief of staff Sanchez, saying, "Well, he just said, 'You know, just don't, you know, announce to the public', so I just kept it to myself. He also said Sanchez didn't mention why he didn't want Budomo announcing the granting of the creadit to the public.

Speaker Pangelinan says he is upset by what Budomo is saying he was told. He told KUAM News, "This Administration, who Mr. Budomo came in contact with, is just outright lying to the public and I think this is just a way to cover it up. First they say it’s their policy and then when they do it they say 'Don't tell anyone it's our policy'? I mean this kind of stuff has to be cleared up and I hope the Governor takes some strong action with his people in that office that are just lying to the people of Guam."

The Speaker says the Legislature believes the Earned Income Tax Credit should be paid to all eligible taxpayers and has provided the Executive Branch with the mechanism to fund the payment of the tax credit.

While KUAM News contacted the Governor's Office for comment immediately following our interview with Mr. Budomo early this afternoon, the Administration did not immediately respond. Just before 5pm today Jadeen Tuncap, the special assistant to the Governor's chief of staff, called.

Tuncap has served as secretary to Tony Sanchez for the last two years, both at the Superior Court and in the Governor's Office. She says she was in the room with Sanchez when he met with Budomo and claims Sanchez never made any statements to the effect that Budomo should not make it publicly known that he had received the EITC.

Just before 5:30, Sanchez himself called KUAM News. After we read Budomo's quote to him, he denies ever making any such comment. Sanchez pointed out his special assistant was a witness that can attest that he didn't say anything to that effect. He would call again before 6pm, saying that perhaps Budomo misinterpreted what has been originally said, and said he is unashamed of granting the tax credit, reaffirming that it's the purpose of the local government to help, not hurt.

Rev & Tax director Art Ilagan meanwhile told KUAM News he will be checking to see if any of his employees said what Budomo alleges. Ilagan says he doesn't believe an employee from his agency would have had the opportunity to say that - as they shouldn't have come in contact with Budomo - but adds he was off-island at the time of the incident. The Rev & Tax director says the EITC check was issued to Budomo through the Department of Administration.