Tax refunds being processed at record pace, says director

Despite an increase in the number of filers, the Guam Department of Revenue & Taxation says its getting out refunds faster than ever before. That was one of the highlights of DRT's testimony during it's budget hearing today. Director Dafne Shimizu said the average processing time for income tax refunds is currently about 46 days from the filing date.

"By the time we get to 2021 tax returns, again this is just a few months ago, we'd already paid out 36,411 taxpayers their income tax refunds," Shimizu explained. "So although we've seen a hundred percent increase in the number of returns that we received year-over-year, when we compare May 2019 to May 2022, we're actually processing and paying them out almost four times faster."

She credits DRT's Income tax team for prioritizing the quicker turnaround in refunds. Meanwhile, Rev and Tax is seeking a budget of $14.9 million for Fiscal Year 2023, which is an $873,000 increase over the current fiscal year.