Tax Incentives Awarded and Revoked in Recent EDC Board Meeting

On Tuesday, the governing board of the V.I. Economic Development Commission continued a meeting that had been recessed on January 24, and made several key decisions regarding matters dealing with applications and compliance.

340 Worldwide LLP, a service business with operations on St. Thomas, received approval to amend its grant of incentives, which will now highlight a tuition reimbursement benefit for the company’s employees. The reimbursement will be for “the completion of courses for an associate or bachelor’s degree pertaining to the employee’s job duties or for certification course(s) that improve the proficiency or productivity of the workplace,” according to the amended grant.

Next, Harborside Corporation, which operates Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, received approval for the addition of real property to its tax incentive certificate, representing the addition of 15 more units as part of its resort offerings.

Lovango Island Holdings LLP's request for retroactive commencement of tax incentives was approved, as was a procurement waiver. The threshold for how many Virgin Islands residents must be hired during the decade the tax incentives are in effect was also lowered to 10 full-time employees over the course of three years. Additionally, Lovango Island must "employ a minimum of 70 full-time employees during its peak season by the fifth year..."