Guam Legislature advances BPT Transparency Act after debate over consumer impact and agency capacity

The Legislature on the floor moved Bill 59‑38, the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) Transparency Act of 2025, to the third‑reading file after more than an hour of debate over whether requiring businesses to itemize the BPT on receipts would help consumers or effectively create a de facto sales tax.

Sponsor Senator Christopher Edwin Duenas introduced the bill as a transparency measure that would add a new 26‑11.2 to Title 2, Chapter 26 of the Guam Code Annotated to require businesses to show BPT as an itemized line on receipts, invoices and other customer documentation. Duenas said the measure is intended to give residents “the ability to see, understand and question how taxes factor into their daily expenses” and said jurisdictions such as Hawaii and New Mexico permit similar itemization by businesses.

Supporters said itemization would make the tax burden visible and improve public fiscal literacy, while opponents warned it would shift taxable visibility to consumers and could be regressive. A senator who identified themselves as representing “MTM” spoke in opposition, calling the bill a “Trojan horse” that will push BPT costs to shoppers and impose heavy compliance costs on small retailers. Other senators who spoke urged compromises to avoid unintended consequences and to allow adequate time and resources for the Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT)…