Guam § 34125 - Mandatory Attachment of Guam Income Tax Refund.

§ 34125. Mandatory Attachment of Guam Income Tax Refund.

Mandatory attachment of Guam income tax refunds and other sums owed by the government of Guam

to an obligor.

(a) Whenever an obligor is delinquent in the amount of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150) or

more, the Department shall send written notice through the United States mail, to the obligor that

withholding will be made from any tax refund or other sums of money which the government of Guam

or the Government of the United States owes him or her. The written notice shall inform the obligor

that he or she may request a hearing with the Department on the issue of such delinquency and inform

him or her about the time, place and manner of doing so. If the obligor’s income tax refund is attached,

the notice shall also inform him or her that, if he or she filed a joint return for the year in question, the

person who filed with him or her may request a hearing under subsection (d) of this section. The

obligor shall have ten (10) days after receiving the notice to either satisfy the delinquency in full or to

request a hearing. If the delinquency is satisfied in full, the Child Support Enforcement Office shall

make no further attempt to attach the obligor’s tax refund. The request for a hearing must be in writing

on a form to be prescribed by the Attorney General. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with

COL 2024-12-05

TITLE 5 GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Chapter Two of the Administrative Adjudication Law. The only two (2) issues which may be contested

or resolved at the hearing shall be whether the obligor is delinquent and the amount of the delinquency.

(b) If the delinquency is not paid in full or if no hearing is requested within ten (10) days after the

obligor receives notice, the Department shall immediately notify the Director of Revenue and Taxation

(the Director) of the delinquency. If a hearing is held, the Department shall notify the Director of the

existence of any delinquency within ten (10) days after the Attorney General approves the hearing

decision.

(c) Whenever the Department notifies the Director under subsection (b) of this section, it shall

also inform him or her that the obligor has been given the opportunity to contest the validity of the

charge of delinquency and its amount in an administrative proceeding and shall provide him or her

with the obligor’s social security number and address. The Director shall then determine if the obligor

is owed any money by the government of Guam as part of a tax refund. If there is such a debt, the

Director shall withhold from the obligor an amount equal to the amount of support owed and pay it

over to the appropriate government agency which is receiving support payments on behalf of obligees,

and shall simultaneously notify the obligor by certified mail, return receipt requested, that this amount

is being withheld.

(d) If a delinquent obligor filed a joint return for the year in question and an amount is withheld

from his or her tax refund, the Director when the notice is given the obligor pursuant to subsection (c)

of this section, shall also notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, the person who filed with

the obligor and advise that person that he or she must file with the Department of Revenue and

Taxation a claim for his or her share of the refund, which notice shall contain information about the

time, place and manner of doing so. The claim must be filed on a form prescribed by the Director, who

shall examine the claim and pay the claimant his or her proper share of the income tax refund. Any

claimant dissatisfied with the amount of his or her award may request a hearing with the Department

of Revenue and Taxation within ten (10) days after being notified of the award, which hearing shall

be conducted according to Chapter 2 of the Administrative Adjudication Law.