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Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Hundreds of taxpayers across the Territory are growing increasingly frustrated as they continue to wait for tax refunds, with some residents still trying to collect payments connected to their 2024 and 2025 tax returns.

The issue came under scrutiny last Thursday during a hearing of the Senate Government Operations Investigative Committee, where top Tax Office officials were called to explain the reasons behind the continuing delays.

The hearing was chaired by Vice Chairman Magalei Logovii in the absence of Committee Chairman Senator Togiola T.A. Tulafono.

Opening the discussion, Senator Magalei said complaints from taxpayers continue to pour into the Fono, with many residents expressing frustration over the lengthy wait for refunds. He noted that some taxpayers have been waiting for more than a year and revealed that even some lawmakers are still awaiting refunds from previous tax years.

In response, Acting Tax Office Manager Tim Mauga acknowledged the growing public concern and confirmed that the department is dealing with a substantial backlog.

As of October 21, 2026, he reported that a total of 3,595 tax returns remained unprocessed. Mauga attributed the delay primarily to the Tax Office's transition from its longtime tax processing system, Moana, to a new platform known as RAIS.

According to Mauga, taxpayer information from previous years has not yet been fully migrated into the new system, forcing employees to manually enter information that would normally be transferred electronically.

The result has been a significant slowdown in processing returns.

Mauga explained that the transition has placed a tremendous burden on an already understaffed department because the new system is currently unable to retrieve taxpayer records from prior years and automatically populate current returns with existing information.

"Everything has to be keyed in by hand," Mauga told senators.

He explained that employees are essentially rebuilding taxpayer records one return at a time while software developers work to complete the migration of data from the old system.

The Acting Tax Office Manager stressed that taxpayer information has not been lost, despite public concerns.

During the hearing, Senator Magalei specifically asked whether records from the previous system had disappeared and needed to be recreated.

Mauga assured lawmakers that all taxpayer information remains stored in the Moana system and that efforts are underway to transfer those records into RAIS. 

However, until that work is completed, employees have little choice but to manually input information into the new platform, a labor-intensive process that has significantly slowed operations and contributed to the refund backlog.

The staffing shortage has further compounded the problem.

Mauga told the committee that the department lacks sufficient personnel to quickly eliminate the growing backlog and may require authorization for overtime work to increase productivity.

He added that because the Tax Office operates out of the Tedi of Samoa building, permission from the landlord would also be required if employees are to work beyond normal office hours.

Addressing widespread speculation that the delays are the result of the government running short of money, Mauga emphatically rejected that claim.

He told senators that the delays are not the result of insufficient funds but are instead linked to technical and administrative challenges associated with the implementation of the new tax processing system.

According to Mauga, the Internal Revenue Service recently remitted an additional $2.5 million to fund the next batch of tax refunds. He said refund payments are continuing to be released as returns are processed and approved.

As further evidence, Mauga noted that more than $43 million in tax refunds had already been issued as of October 21.

Of that amount, approximately $38.2 million was reimbursed by the IRS through federal tax credits and refund programs, while about $4.7 million was funded by the American Samoa Government (ASG).

When Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean asked who was responsible for bringing the RAIS platform to the Tax Office, Tax Specialist Tolofua Uaea appeared hesitant to answer.

Tuaolo encouraged him to respond openly, stating that lawmakers and the public deserved to understand how the system had been obtained and who was involved in the decision-making process.

After further questioning, Tolofua stated that Governor Pulaali’i Nikolao Pula’s name appeared to be associated with the individuals involved in acquiring the new system.

Lawmakers also questioned whether recent changes to tax filing forms may have contributed to a decline in individual income tax collections.

Mauga said the modifications were intentionally designed to help local taxpayers maximize federal tax credits available through the IRS.

"We changed it to benefit taxpayers by helping them receive the maximum amount available from the IRS," he explained.

He pointed to the Child Tax Credit program as an example of the benefits generated by the changes.

According to Mauga, approximately $11 million in Child Tax Credit payments were distributed during the previous tax year. This year, however, more than $22 million has already been paid to taxpayers through the program.

He emphasized that the money comes from federal reimbursements and not from local government revenues.

The figures, senators noted, illustrate the increasingly important role federal tax credits play in the Territory's tax refund program.

At the same time, the testimony highlighted the significant challenges facing the Tax Office as it works through thousands of pending returns while attempting to complete the transition from the Moana system to the new RAIS platform.

For taxpayers still waiting on refunds, the hearing provided some reassurance that funds remain available. 

However, it also underscored that many may have to wait longer as Tax Office employees continue the painstaking process of manually entering records and clearing the backlog “one return at a time".