Governor Takes Action on Bill to Provide Gross Receipts Tax Amnesty, Amend the GERS Program, Provide Funding for Sports Activities and Allot Money for Upkeep of Both Magens Bay and Lindbergh Bay

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. on Thursday signed into law Bill 28-0105 which provides assistance for small businesses through a gross receipts tax amnesty while providing funding for a number of initiatives throughout the territory. de Jongh did veto a section of the bill because the Education department is already vested with the authority to create and administer a territory-wide plan for coordinating all athletic activities. “In the alternative, however, Section 6 aptly addresses the need for a realistic funding source that supports a coordinated athletic program within the Department of Education. Therefore, I have approved that section of the measure,” de Jongh wrote in a transmittal letter to Senate President Louis Patrick Hill.

While de Jongh approved the section of the bill which allows an amnesty period for the penalties and interest for delinquent payment of gross receipt taxes, he acknowledged those businesses whose management practices have allowed them to make timely payments, and encouraged all businesses to timely remit their gross receipts taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. 

The governor approved language in the bill which extends the date of implementation of Tier II retirement benefits to January 1, 2011. “The extended period facilitates the government’s objective of developing a plan for the eventual large attrition of its employees who have provided many years of service and also the retention and recruitment of new employees. Another section will provide a step “to addressing a real conflict facing the government regarding how to effectively deal with both the payment of leave to retiring government employees and the unfunded liability of the GERS.” de Jongh said the dilemma is heightened during the ongoing period of economic recession, but ignoring the problem will not lead to its resolution. Section 3 of the bill which requires the GERS Board of Trustees to submit to the Senate by January 31, 2010, a plan for full implementation of the GERS Reform Act of 2005, Act 6794 as amended by Act 6905, including all recommendations for changes to the GERS was also approved. 

The governor’s approval of Section 7 of the bill will continue support for the sport of amateur boxing in the territory, allows the Magens Bay Board, whose responsibilities encompass Lindquist Beach or Smith Bay Park, to progress with improvements at the site and provides continue funding for the construction of restroom at Lindbergh Bay beach. “I believe the latter represents progress towards keeping our territory’s beaches clean, improving our critical tourism product and thereby enhancing the natural beauty of the Virgin Islands that surely attracts so many tourists,” de Jongh wrote in this correspondence to the Senate President. 

Text of Act 7128 and Letter to Senate President

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