Northern Mariana Islands: Garment and Tourist Industries Play a Dominant Role in the Commonwealth's Economy

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the state of the economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and its revenue-raising efforts, focusing on: (1) what the impact of the garment and tourist industries and the use of foreign washers has been on the economy of the CNMI; (2) how the revenue-raising efforts of the CNMI and the payments that CNMI receives from the U.S. Treasury compare with those of other U.S. territories and freely associated states; and (3) how the taxes and fees paid by the garment industry in the CNMI, expressed as a percentage of gross receipts, compare with the taxes and fees paid by the garment industry in the United States.