The American Samoa government Treasurer, Falema'o Pili, says he will not waive excise tax on fish caught by local longliners within the territory's exclusive economic zone.
The president of local company Longline Services Incorporated, Carlos Sanchez, says it took them more than 10 years to prove that they did not need to pay a five percent excise tax on fish caught within the EEZ.
He says that is the view of the attorney general's office and the fishing operators had hoped the Treasurer and the Customs office would have abided by it.
Falema'o Pili accepts that fish caught in the American Samoa EEZ are exempt from the excise tax but the difficulty is proving where they are caught.
