by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - $19 million. That's how much the Department of Administration is holding in unclaimed tax refunds, some of which date back almost five years.

Over 6,000 unclaimed tax refund checks sit at DOA and starting next week they will be in the hands of island residents. "This has never been done before this is the first time that this has been done," said agency director Benita Manglona.

And while the Internal Revenue Service does not require a publication of this list, the suggestion has been tossed around for some time. Manglona in fact says DOA has been on working the list since last year trying to comply with the IRS code and ensuring all information is safe to be released. "So it had to go through a vetting process, and we're ready now to release those names without amounts," she confirmed.

And while it's hard to believe that $19 million has gone unclaimed, Manglona says there are several reasons why this could have happened. "It all depends some taxpayers filed their return and then they leave and they don't leave a forwarding address, or they put the wrong address and it's just undeliverable and some taxpayers have passed on," she added.

And while the next month will see the start of the distribution and processing timeframe for these unclaimed tax refunds, it will also mark another batch of refunds to paid for 2012 as well. "We're waiting for the month of May to see how much we're supposed to set aside because there's a requirement that we set aside based on the actual collection of the income tax," she said.

About $30 million has already been paid out for 2012 refunds for those who filed error-free returns on or before February 12. Ultimately, Manglona says it's part of returning money rightfully owed to the taxpayer, noting, "I feel good when we're trying to clean our payables we're just trying to take care of a lot of these issues that have not been addressed in the past and I think people should get their money that is due to them."

The list of names, addresses and dates with unclaimed checks will be published April 26 in the Government of Guam's Proa newsletter. A list of dates has been set to pick up those checks group alphabetically beginning with 'A' through 'F' between April 29 to May 3; 'G' through 'O' on May 6-10; and 'P' through 'Z' from May 13-17. A valid ID is required for checks unclaimed for less than a year whereas those for more than a year will be required to call or email DOA to set up an appointment.