Taxes

Kulufeinga ‘Anisi Bloomfield says only three percent of Tonga’s imported goods including alcohol and tobacco are taxed.

The tax-free policy was created to make imported goods available to Tongan customers at low prices, he said.

Bloomfield said he made changes to the Tongan government’s free-tax policies and removed taxes from a number of important goods including electrical equipment, community initiatives for students such as buses imported from overseas and equipment for fisheries.

Parliament has been adjourned until then, after MPs questioned why over $US3.7 million was still being collected despite the government pulling out of hosting the 2019 event.

Noble MP, Lord Vaea, said the government was collecting revenue using three taxes introduced to fund the games.

Vaea said he believed this was illegal.

He said parliament would reconvene on Monday and the government was expected to repeal the revenue gathering legislation.

But in the meantime Lord Vaea said questions remain.

'Akilisi Pohiva offered no evidence for the claims made at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

Matangi Tonga said Mr Pohiva gathered the media by a swamp on the Nuku'alofa waterfront, where he told them he had nothing in particular he wanted to talk about.

He then went on to discuss the swamp area - an historic site and former landfill - and how he's ordered canals to be dug to beautify the area.

Mr Pohiva said he was managing the project himself, and there was no working committee or written plans.

The team of reporters, researchers and editors across CNN listened throughout the debate and selected key statements from both candidates, rating them true; mostly true; true, but misleading; false; or it's complicated.

Obamacare

Reality Check: Trump on Obamacare premiums

By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney

Trump cited Obamacare as one of the top problems he wants to address if he is elected president.

Facebook (FB, Tech30) disclosed on Thursday that it could owe billions due to an IRS investigation into the way it moved assets to an Irish subsidiary to avoid higher taxes.

The IRS tax penalty could total $3 billion to $5 billion, plus interest, according to a Facebook filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If so, Facebook says the penalty could have a "material adverse impact" on its financial position.