TAX OFFICE OFFERING FREE FILING SERVICES FOR SOME

The Tax Office extended last Tuesday its free tax filing services to include the employees of the local cannery. Over 1,000 government employees have already taken advantage of the free tax filing services, which is offered Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Tax Office (on the ground floor of the A.P. Lutali Executive Office Building).

Only those with $35,000 or less in annual gross income are eligible to use the Tax Office’s free filing services.

W-2 forms for government employees were distributed along with paper checks (pay stubs for those on direct deposit) during the last payroll, which was Monday, January 26 and people have started crowding the Tax Office since.

Lines are out the door, with local taxpayers anxious to get their taxes filed quickly so they can get their refunds. A Tax Office source says that there are plans to provide the free service to the residents of the Manu’a Islands, as well as the senior citizens under the Territorial Administration on Aging (TAOA) program.

CABLE CAR/TRAMWAY PROJECTS

Historic Preservation Officer David Herdrich says their office is currently working with a special task force – established by the Governor — to rehabilitate the tramway site.

He said the two components of the project include restoring the tramway and bringing in a new cable car, as well as registering the site as a scenic overlook.

Herdrich explained that the tramway site features a monument of the 1980 Flag Day crash that, over the years, “got into really bad shape.”

He said the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office and the Dept. of Commerce came out last year and “cleaned it off”. Herdrich added, “We designed an interpretive sign next to it last year and the sign basically provides information about the crash and includes photographs.”

Herdrich referred to a “Letter to the Editor” that was printed in the Samoa News, talking about what bad shape the monument was in, covered with mold.

“It’s not covered in mold anymore as a clean-up was conducted,” Herdrich assured. He said carrying out the project for both the tramway and the cable car requires a lot of money and DOC, as well as other departments and agencies, are exploring different funding avenues to make it happen.

EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE AN ALTERNATIVE TO GED TEST

 “To expand access to high school equivalency testing, education officials from the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Palau and Northern Marianas have approved the Educational Testing Service (ETS) HiSET program as an affordable alternative to the GED test.” This is according to a press release issued last month by PRNewswire.

"We seek to provide everyone in our community with workforce development options, and being able to offer the HiSET high school equivalency exam at a considerably lower price allows more people to take advantage of this option," said Mary A.Y. Okada, president and CEO of Guam Community College. "Once people earn their high school equivalency, we want to channel them into postsecondary programs that can give them even more earning power."

These U.S. territories, along with 12 states, are the latest to choose the HiSET program, which offers computer- and paper-delivered testing options in English and Spanish to serve the greatest number of candidates.

"We're excited that HiSET provides test services at a reasonable cost, which gives a better chance for students to succeed and achieve their high school equivalency diploma," said Jubilee Kuartei, an education specialist in Palau's Ministry of Education.

Developed by ETS and Iowa Testing Programs (ITP), the HiSET exam covers the same content areas as the GED® test and is accepted in the same way by institutions of higher education as well as by commercial and government employers. However, the HiSET program's advantages include:

Affordable test fee to keep this valuable credential accessible for candidates;

English and Spanish versions of the test;

Computer-delivered and paper-delivered testing options;

Flexibility with the use of existing test centers, test prep and curricula; and

Test design and validation by experts in assessment development for fair and reliable results.

For more information about the ETS HiSET program, please visit http://hiset.ets.org/.