Guam is as distant in the minds of the art world as it is the most distant of all U.S. territories from the mainland. One of five populated “unincorporated territories” along with Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam is located in the western Pacific, an island of 544 square kilometers that is home to 160,000.While nearly a third of the island is host to the U.S. military, the largest ethnic group are the Chamorros, an indigenous people who live spread across the wider Mariana islands, but for whom Guam is their largest settlement. Thought to have arrived some 4,000 years ago, the Chamorros developed a unique culture that remains despite 300 years of Spanish colonization as a trading stop on the Manila to Acapulco route, and being ceded to the U.S. since the 1898 Spanish American War.Today Guam is a popular tourist spot, especially for Japanese and Filipinos, allowing Guam’s creative culture to flourish once more. One artist who has struggled with the challenges of life on the island to end up selling hundreds of her works domestically and internationally, is Michelle Pier.

Born and raised on Guam with Chamorro blood, Pier has seen some of the activism for indigenous rights prove ineffective, and sought to prove her own independence without reliance on any institutions.“Best Flooring For Florida HomeGuam has a layered and complex history,” says Pier. Best Robot Vacuum For Cat Hair“My great grandma is well-known from her role before, during and after WWII, and I resonate with her deeply,” she adds.Buy Curtains EgyptA victim of domestic violence that saw her abuser go to jail, Pier turned to art after moving to California where she studied at the City College of San Francisco. She would return to Guam where she would find herself struggling on welfare with two young sons. “I would work all day and still end up back at square one of not having enough money to do anything other than maintain the status quo,” she says.

“I was exhausted, depleted, and in poor health. I got back into painting as a way to heal.”Having regained her sense of creativity, Pier began sharing and exhibiting her art, and soon found buyers in the US, Canada and the U.K. seeking her works. “I began holding events and working at the health food store, and as a way to prove to myself that I could do some really cool things for the community.”Pier’s success with Art Nights, Craft Fairs and an annual Luna Festival eventually meant she could quit her part time jobs to focus on her business, called Creative Indeed. “Now I paint full time,” says Pier. “Over the last 10 years, I have gone from depressed, unhealthy and struggling to care for my kids, to a full time thriving artist, and I feel like things are just getting started.”Pier is now opening an art studio so she can move out of her own bedroom to paint more freely, and fulfill a waiting list of commissions from Guam and abroad. “I have a full ongoing exhibit at a local restaurant called MoSas, which is the hot place to be these days.

I sell work on the walls there. I have a growing following on social media and my blog too,” Pier adds. And while she hopes to set an example for independent artists and struggling mothers, Pier’s commitment to painting the nature, environment and people of Guam is also helping to expose a culture that is truly distant from the art worlds of New York and California. “I want to share with the world my story, and the story of Guam,” she says. “Not just from my perspective, but also the collective shared perspectives of people past and present. I want people to understand more about Guam, and the possibilities of creating a sustainable life wherever you are in the world.”Guam, an organized, unincorporated U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, is where the sun shines first on America each day.  The tiny island of approximately 170,000 is also full of bright opportunities for businesses.Should you decide you want to up from the mainland U.S. and go half way around the world to Guam to start a business, there are a few things that you will need to know.

Here are the Government of Guam's requirements you should know before starting your business, according to the Department of Revenue and Taxation's Web site .1. Business License Requirements: Generally any person or business entities doing business on Guam are required to be licensed with the Department of Revenue and Taxation's General Licensing and Registration Branch. An exception to this general rule is allowed in the case of professionals such as certified public accountants, attorneys and medical practitioners. These professionals are exceptions because they are subject to the rules and regulations of their individual regulating agency or board.Guam's Department of Revenue and Taxation's Web site noted however, that if you are a domestic or foreign corporation, partnership, limited liability corporation (LLC) or limited liability Partnership (LLP), then it's a requirement that you first register your corporation, partnership, LLC or LLP with the department's General Licensing and Registration Branch.

You will need to bring notarized or certified copies of the business Articles of Incorporation, corporate by-laws, partnership agreements and the appropriately filled out application. You might need other documents, too, as depending on the type of business you will be running you will be required to get clearances from different government agencies.One example the department's Web site stated was that if you were to convert your home (let's say you have bought one for vacation there) to a rental property you will be required to get clearances from the Department of Land Management and the Department of Public Works.2. Business Privilege Tax Requirements: Guam laws provide for the assessment and monthly collection of privilege taxes. Under this local law, you are required to file a monthly or a quarterly Gross Receipts Tax Return based on the period the income was received or accrued, of course, this is depending on your accounting method.3. Use Tax Requirements: Business owners or entities may also be responsible for paying a Use Tax.

Guam's Use Tax Laws may be applicable if you're an importer of any tangible personal property such as equipment to conduct your business.4. Payroll Tax Requirements: If you are planning to run a business that is a corporation or partnership or if you should have employees, then you will be required to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your business. To apply for an EIN you would go ww.irs.gov to apply online.Business owners or entities that have employees are required to file a quarterly return, Form W-1, Employer's Quarterly Guam Tax Return to report salary and wage withholding taxes on Guam to the Department of Revenue and Taxation. They are also required to deposit the withholding taxes monthly using Form 500, Guam Depository Receipt with the Government of Guam.You should know that the income tax laws in effect in the U.S. are the same as the income tax laws in Guam and therefore, Income Taxes and Wage and Withholding on Guam earned income will be paid to the Treasurer of Guam.The Web site noted that Social Security Taxes/FICA Taxes will be paid to the Treasury of the

Corporate Income Tax Requirements: Guam has its own territorial income tax system based on the Internal Revenue Code. In it, the words United States are replaced with Guam where appropriate, according to the Department of Revenue and Taxation's Web site. In essence, Guam mirrors the U.S. tax system.Owners or entities doing business on Guam are required to report and file a Guam Territorial Income tax Return. If you have a (domestic) corporation that's been incorporated under the laws of the Territory of Guam, then you are required to file Form 1120. If you're Foreign and therefore, not incorporated under Guam laws, the corporation registered with the Department of Revenue and Taxation is required to file Form 1120 F to report Guam-sourced income and expenses.6. Reporting Cash Payments or Over $10,000 Requirement: Guam tax code requires that cash payments more than $10,000 received in a trade or business be reported if your business gets more than $10,000 in cash from one buyer as a result of a single transaction or two or more related transactions.