Guam § 16311 - Referendum on Tax Increases Required.

§ 16311. Referendum on Tax Increases Required.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no increase in real property

tax, liquid fuel tax, business privilege tax or any locally enacted and

administered tax on Guam shall go into effect without the approval of the

voters of Guam in a referendum held during a general election. The manner

in which a proposed tax increase shall be placed in referendum before the

voters of Guam pursuant to this Section shall be as follows:

(a) I Liheslaturan Guåhan must pass, in bill form, a proposed tax

increase, the effective date to be thirty (30) days after ratification by the

voters of Guam in a referendum, such ratification to be certified by the

Guam Election Commission. The bill must detail the amount and nature

of the proposed increase and the purpose to which such proposed

increase shall be applied.

(b) No more than ten (10) days after the bill is enacted into law,

the full text of the law shall be transmitted to the Guam Election

Commission by the Legislative Secretary of I Liheslaturan Guåhan.

The Guam Election Commission shall place before the voters of Guam

the question of whether the voters approve or disapprove of the

proposed tax increase at the next General Election; provided, that the

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date of transmittal of the proposed tax increase from I Liheslaturan

Guåhan to the Guam Election Commission is at least ninety (90) days

prior to the date of the next General Election.

(c) The Guam Election Commission shall cause to appear in a

daily periodical of mass publication on Guam a full text of the proposed

tax increase to be submitted to the voters in referendum pursuant to this

Section, at a date no less than thirty (30) days prior to the General

Election during which the referendum shall be held. I Liheslaturan

Guåhan shall make such provisions as are deemed necessary to provide

the public with information necessary to arrive at an informed position

with respect to the proposal.

(d) Any submission to the voters made pursuant to this Section

shall be treated as an initiative for the purpose of determining the

number of votes needed to ratify a proposal placed before the voters

pursuant to this Section.

This Section shall not be interpreted as requiring voter ratification of a

tax imposed by the government of the United States of America, provided

that this Section shall apply upon de-linkage of the Guam income tax from

the Federal Internal Revenue Code.