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St. Croix Chamber of Commerce

St. Croix Chamber of Commerce

Growing St Croix's Economy Together

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Chamber News

St Croix Chamber of Commerce Supports Tax Amnesty Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill would encourage residents and businesses to pay outstanding taxes without imposed penalties.

ST CROIX, USVI, NOVEMBER 20, 2020 — The St. Croix Chamber of Commerce strongly supports Bill No. 33-0439 (the “tax amnesty bill”), introduced by Senators Donna Frett-Gregory and Marvin Blyden, which establishes a tax amnesty period until June 30, 2021 for both income taxes and gross receipts taxes. 

Bill No. 33-0439 passed through the Senate Rules and Judiciary Committee on Thursday, November 19, 2020 will now be voted in the next Committee of the Whole Hearing. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked economic havoc on St. Croix’s businesses, causing many to close, and severely reducing cash flow to hundreds of the businesses who have somehow managed to survive the onslaught. The reduction in tourist traffic to St. Croix combined with numerous stay-at-home orders have resulted in a massive decrease in income as well as a severe contraction of the economy writ large. This economic contraction prevented many businesses from utilizing the last tax amnesty period.  We urge all Senators to approve the tax amnesty bill, and recommend in the strongest terms that the Governor sign it into law.  

The St Croix Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization of local businesses working together to improve the island of St Croix’s economic growth through advocacy, networking and promotion. Founded in 1924, members range from large corporations to small mom-and-pop businesses and individuals.

For questions or more information, please contact the Chamber at info@stxchamber.org.

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Filed Under: Government, News, Press Releases

St Croix Chamber of Commerce Opposes Online Gross Receipts Tax Bill

St Croix Chamber Opposes Online Gross Receipts

Update: Citing the concerns of his constituents, Senator Novelle E. Francis has withdrawn Amendment No. 33-913 to Bill No. 33-0330 from consideration as of Friday, November 20, 2020.


Nov 19, 2020 – The St. Croix Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes Amendment No. 33-913 to Bill No. 33-0330. (the “online tax bill”). The amendment purports to impose a gross receipts tax on out-of-territory business which provide goods or services to Virgin Islands residents. Because the bill would drastically raise the cost of doing business in the Territory and disincentivize out-of-territory businesses shipping to the islands, all Senators should vote against the bill. If the bill passes, the Governor should veto it.

The online tax bill would significantly raise the cost of doing business in the Territory by further hiking the cost of all shipped goods, including food, clothing, and auto parts. The bill would also raise the cost associated with everyday online service providers like Netflix, Amazon, and the Wall Street Journal. This discourages investment and relocation to the Territory. 

States St Croix Chamber Chairman of the Board, Ryan Nelthropp, “Given our size and population, the Territory simply does not have all the goods and supplies that consumers and businesses need in order to avoid utilizing online retailers.”

The proposed amendments to this bill would further hamper access to goods and equipment and subsequently increase the cost of doing business in the US Virgin Islands, once again. One newly opened small business shared that approximately 75% of the materials and equipment they needed to build their establishment was not available on St. Croix. Had they not been able to ship those items here, there would be no new business adding to the US Virgin Islands’ tax base. Additionally, most goods currently purchased by Virgin Islanders are not sold anywhere in the Territory. Therefore, there will be a marginal (if any) increase in spending at local businesses. The bill is a job-killer, plain and simple.

Virgin Islands consumers and local businesses already face challenges with shipping goods to the islands because many retailers refuse to ship directly to the Territory. Many of those retailers who do ship to the USVI only offer shipping via UPS or FedEx. This is cost-prohibitive given that these shippers charge international shipping rates. Those consumers and businesses in the Territory who choose to ship via freight forwarders are saddled with Federal Excise Taxes. Adding a Gross Receipts tax on top of the complications already involved would be the death knell for online retailers, particularly smaller retailers who are willing to ship to the Territory. Put simply, online sellers will likely determine that the new burdens outweigh the value of USVI sales and will simply not ship to the islands.

The St Croix Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and its Membership, feel the bill is fiscally short-sighted and will cause undue stress to consumers and business owners in an already economically challenged Territory. Imposition of this tax and the subsequent requirements to register licenses would effectively cut off US Virgin Islands consumers and local businesses from necessary goods and services not available in the Territory.

At best, it would dramatically increase costs to Virgin Islands consumers as businesses affected by this tax would either pass these increased costs on to the consumer in the US Virgin Islands or cease to do business in the Territory altogether. Either way, it is the consumers and local businesses here in the islands who lose. 

Filed Under: Government, News

Governor Bryan Says Reopening of Bars and Nightclubs Next Week Is Next Step in Relaxing Restrictions as Pandemic Continues

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — During the Government House weekly COVID-19 press briefing, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said the reopening of the Territory’s bars and nightclubs – which becomes effective on Monday, November, 9 – is the next step in relaxing existing restrictions and finding ways to move forward during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Commissioner Racquel Berry-Benjamin and Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White also gave a briefing about a special collaboration between their respective agencies – as well as the Department of Health – to offer student athletes an opportunity to be considered for athletic scholarships as the Territory navigates the pandemic.

The commissioners have developed a “Student Sports Combine in a Bubble” as a free, safe and secure way to provide top student athletes with an opportunity to demonstrate their skills for recruiting, expectations and compliance for NCAA and NAIA institutions of higher learning. The “Combine in a Bubble” exhibition sessions will be videotaped as the athletes perform a variety of sports drills, trainings and scrimmage games, and the tapes will be shared with colleges, recruiters and scouts.

“We understand that it is necessary to find a way to live with the presence of this contagious and deadly virus,” Governor Bryan said. “Our COVID-19 Task Force had a really spirited conversation about the need to provide safe social outlets, especially for our young people. We have done so systematically for the churches, restaurants, movie theaters and casinos. We are now looking at sports and beginning to talk about night-time entertainment.”

Governor Bryan said he met with a delegation of bar and nightclub owners to talk about implementing an initial set of restrictions, and officials will monitor them to see if they are effective in containing the spread of the virus.

“As a reminder, the enforcement penalties established in Section 3 in the 15th Supplemental Executive Order issued on August 28 will continue in full effect,” the Governor said. “The fines include $1,000 per attendee who violates the current mass gathering guidelines and $5,000 per organizer of any such prohibited mass gathering event.”

The Governor also addressed the practice of having parties aboard boats rafted together, which is prohibited under the 12th Supplemental Executive Order and carries a penalty of a $1,000 fine per incident or the confiscation of the vessel.

“I want you to know that it is just as easy to catch the virus during a mass gathering with people on a boat as it is on shore,” Governor Bryan said. “I want to discourage people from attending parties and other gatherings at sea. If you are going boating, which is permissible, you should still practice safe social distancing and wear a mask when it makes sense to do so.”

The Governor also reiterated the requirements and restrictions regarding travel, urging residents to avoid non-essential travel and reminding them that residents, in addition to tourists and other visitors, are required to submit testing results received within five days of returning to the USVI.

“Virgin Islanders traveling back and forth are also contacting and transporting the virus,” Governor Bryan said. “The testing requirement will be strictly enforced for all travelers age 5 and older. We have made it very simple to upload your results, just visit USVITravelPortal.com and fill out the form.”

The Governor ended the weekly press briefing by congratulating the more than 20,000 residents who voted during this election cycle, as well as the winners of Tuesday’s election who will be in the 34th Legislature and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, who heads into her fourth term in Congress.

  • Speaking to the future members of the 34th Legislature, Governor Bryan listed the unfinished business from the 33rd Legislature that still needs to be addressed:
  • The merger of the Fire EMS service
  • The expansion of the authorization for the cannabis industry to generate tax revenues
  • Corporate and trust code amendments that will create a corporation as is enjoyed in Delaware
  • Legislation creating a comprehensive approach to mental health and developmental disabilities
  • The Governor also said he plans to reintroduce a measure to refinance the Internal Revenue Matching Fund bonds to realize savings to benefit the Government Employees’ Retirement System.
  • He also said he will send down to the Legislature the first part of a three-part comprehensive land and water use plan for the USVI.

“There’s lots of critical and urgent work to be done. As the campaign politics subside, the administration of public policy must come front and center,” Governor Bryan said. “I look forward to working with each one of you to continue the advancement the Virgin Islands has been making.”

Unemployment
To date, the Virgin Islands Department of Labor (VIDOL) has issued 44,761 unemployment insurance checks totaling more than $34,786,878.
The department also has issued an additional 28,008 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation checks totaling $43,177,200.
VIDOL has issued 3,987 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance checks to self-employed Virgin Islanders totaling $6,619,112 and $2,059,801 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
In total, the Bryan-Roach Administration has issued 77,907 checks totaling $86,642,991.

Stimulus
The Bureau of Internal Revenue has extended the deadline to file a 2018 income tax return or form 1040 to receive a stimulus check to November 21. The Bureau will continue to make payments until December 31, 2020.

COVID-19 cases

  • Currently tracking 36 active cases
  • 24,776 individuals tested to date
  • 23,358 of those tests were negative
  • 1,388 tests came back positive
  • 1,329 people have recovered
  • 23 fatalities to date
  • No COVID-19 patients are hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix.
  • Two COVID-19 patients are hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.

Filed Under: Government, News

Viya Partners with WIX, a Global Company, to offer Free Websites to Businesses

Jennifer Matarangas-King
Vice President of Public Relations | Governmental Affairs
o| 340-712-5053 m| 340-717-5886 e| jking@viya.vi

viya wix banner 2020

St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, USVI – November 3, 2020
Viya, the leading telecommunications provider in the US Virgin Islands, understands the negative impact of the COVID crisis on all industries, especially small to medium size businesses.
Viya has partnered with WIX, one of the global leading companies in website creation, to assist small and medium businesses. Viya will offer one free year of WIX service when business customers subscribe to a new internet service.

Businesses in the US Virgin Islands rely mostly on social media to promote their products and services with little freedom to customize content and to have e-commerce capabilities. With this offer, business owners can start an online business, offer online bookings, showcase their work, promote their business and much more.

Viya business customers are not required to have technical knowledge or resources to create a website. Business owners answer a few simple questions and the WIX software builds a professional custom-made website, including relevant content and top-notch design. After personalizing the site with some edits, it will be ready to launch.

“Virgin Islanders have always embraced entrepreneurship and we want to empower and provide easy access to help anyone migrate their business to an online platform with this offer. This bundle with our great internet service makes perfect sense. Small and Medium businesses will be able to reach out to customers in the US Virgin Islands and the world. Businesses in the territory can now transition from “brick and mortar” storefronts to “online”, have their own store, accept payments and engage a much broader audience by using WIX’s very intuitive and user-friendly platform and will now have full control of their own content 24/7. E-Commerce is now more than ever, an integral component of the development of the Territory’s economy”, said Chief Commercial Officer Ricardo Ariza.

The offer includes Wix Basic Premium service to build your own e-commerce site, one year of a free domain name and many other great features.

To take advantage of this offer, new business customers must sign up for internet service and current customers are required to upgrade to a higher tier of service.

Additional details about this exciting offer are available at http://viyabusiness.com/free-website/ will be announcing other services to help businesses go back on their feet and promote their products.

About Viya: Viya is the largest telecommunications provider located in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), providing a full suite of telecommunications and entertainment services. Our family of services for both the business and residential markets include wireline and wireless voice service, fixed and mobile broadband plus cable television service offered over a hybrid fiber-coaxial wireline network and a state-of-the-art 4G LTE wireless network serving St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John.

About Wix: Wix is leading the way with a cloud-based development platform for over 180 million registered users worldwide. Wix was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, artists and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online.

Filed Under: News, Press Releases

Project Promise Caterpillars Become Certified COVID-19 Youth Ambassadors

ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, (OCTOBER 29, 2020)— When St. Croix non-profit Project Promise launched its flagship Caterpillar Project to provide a full range of programming for a group of at-risk youth, it made community service an integral part of the program. The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped this. In fact, it is the focus of their current efforts! With the goal of creating and implementing a community service project that can potentially impact the entire St. Croix community, the “Caterpillars” have completed Heart to Heart International’s COVID-19 Youth Ambassador program.

Zeeken with Certificate

Based on guidelines from the CDC and the WHO, the COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program was created for high school students to lead a new generation of health educators. Heart to Heart International’s training program taught these teens a wealth of information about COVID-19. For example, they learned about the disease’s biology, symptoms, risks, and prevention, and looked at COVID-19’s mental health considerations and warning signs. Once they had a solid base of knowledge from which to work, the students participated in a live online workshop in which they received expert assistance creating their own COVID-19 community outreach plan.

Participating in the program helped the Caterpillars develop their critical thinking, communication, problem solving and collaboration skills while becoming leaders in their communities. Project Promise’s newly certified COVID-19 Youth Ambassadors are now excited to launch their “Stop the Spread” educational campaign. The group will be using a variety of social media platforms to educate others about how to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

J'Neelah demonstracts right and wrong

“Despite the fact that they are all at home,” says Resa O’Reilly, Project Promise’s founder and president, “our youth are seeing that they can still have a positive impact on the lives of others and do their part to help stop the spread of COVID-19.” To learn more or sign-up for this training, contact covid19@hearttoheart.org. For more information on Heart to Heart International’s ongoing projects and mission visit hearttoheart.org.

ABOUT PROJECT PROMISE
Project Promise is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth on St. Croix by providing empowerment initiatives, cultural programs and family services. To learn more about Project Promise, please visit their website at www.projectpromisevi.com.

ABOUT HEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL
Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Heart to Heart International (HHI) is a global humanitarian organization focused on improving access to health. Since its inception in 1992, HHI has delivered medical aid and supplies worth $2 billion to more than 130 countries, including within the United States. HHI responds to natural disasters both domestically and internationally by supplying medical relief and mobilizing volunteers. The organization is a 4-star Charity Navigator charity, a BBB Accredited charity and is on the “Philanthropy 400.”

Filed Under: Education, News, Press Releases

Plessen Healthcare LLC Urgent Care Center to Open Monday, September 21, 2020

Plessen Urgent Care Opens Sept 21

Plessen Announces the Opening of Urgent Care Center for patients ages 2 and up!

ST CROIX, USVI, September 15, 2020 – Monday, September 21, 2020 is the first day Plessen Healthcare welcomes patients to their new, state of the art Urgent Care facility, centrally located in the Sunny Isles Shopping Center.

Open seven days per week, the Urgent Care Center will see patients from ages two and up.

Upon the opening of the Urgent Care Center, all Plessen Healthcare clients who require care on a walk-in basis will be seen at the new Urgent Care location at Sunny Isles. Patients will be able to walk-in to be seen in turn or alternatively may choose to remotely save their place in line through the online system, adding efficiency to the experience. The online option will be available at plessenhealthcare.com as of opening day.

The Urgent Care Center will be open 7 days per week and will be equipped with X-ray and laboratory diagnostics.Now you have a place to bring your child or elderly relative on the weekends when they get sick or hurt themselves. We wanted to address that need in the community.

Temporary Hours of operation will be:

  • Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Extended Hours – Coming Soon! – will be:

  • Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Plessen’s Urgent Care has been established with the same diligence and dedication to excellent care since their opening on St. Croix in 2015. The Urgent Care Center will be teamed with experienced emergency and urgent care providers.

“Now you have a place to bring your child or elderly relative on the weekends when they get sick or hurt themselves. We wanted to address that need in the community. With the addition of our Urgent Care Center, Plessen has become an integrated healthcare system. We are now able to care for our patients all around when they have an injury or an acute issue, and then have a follow-up visit in our primary care or specialty care clinic, and provide them with surgery when they need it. This, as well as our Telehealth program, allows our patients to receive a full spectrum of care, all linked together with our healthcare information exchange technology,” shares Dr. Jan Tawakol, co-founder of Plessen Healthcare LLC.

The medical clinic in Orange Grove will continue to serve patient primary care and specialty healthcare needs, by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling 340.715.7720.

Plessen Healthcare is now a Fully Integrated Healthcare System comprised of Urgent Care, Primary Care, Specialty Care and The Virgins Island’s very first AAAHC Accredited and CMS Certified Outpatient Ambulatory Surgery Center – taking care of all of St Croix’s healthcare needs under one orange umbrella!

Plessen is proud to be of service to the St. Croix community and looks forward to offering their high standard of care including children’s urgent care needs.

About Plessen Healthcare, LLC
Plessen Healthcare, LLC. was founded on St Croix, US Virgin Islands in 2014 by Dr. Jan Tawakol and Dr. Tasnim Khan, on the fundamental belief that world class health care should be accessible to everyone. The Plessen Orange Gove medical campus includes a full-service, multi-specialty medical clinic and the only CMS accredited surgical center in the USVI. As of September 2020, the Urgent Care Center located at Sunny Isles serves patients ages two and up, seven days per week. Plessen is committed to affordable, accountable and efficient healthcare and is centrally located within the Caribbean for easy travel from down island, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the U.S. mainland.

For questions or more information, please contact Angela East at aeast@plessenhealthcare.com

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Filed Under: News, Press Releases

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Recent Posts

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