Business View Caribbean - December 2015 51
says. “But they still have to keep the money abroad,
because if they bring the money into the U.S., they’ll be
taxed at a higher rate. But if that same operation was
in the U.S. Virgin Islands, because of a grant of the U.S
Congress, giving the government of the Virgin Islands
the ability to abate a company’s federal tax obligation,
those funds could have a net tax rate of three percent.
It’s our responsibility now to demonstrate that we have
the technology platform and infrastructure to hold such
an operation and that we have the energy costs that do
not blow the tax incentives out of the window.”
Before his term(s) as Governor is through, Mapp would
like to accomplish the following: 1) Seeing that the
Virgin Islands have parity in federal infrastructure dol-
lars, especially as it pertains to roads; 2) Modernizing
the Islands’ healthcare system by taking full advan-
tage of the Affordable Care Act, and giving its citizens
broader access to the country’s Medicare and Medic-
aid programs; 3) Building a more robust private sector,
including a growing inventory of hotel rooms, expand-
ed sports tourism, a vibrant technology sector, and a
broad financial services industry; 4) Safer streets and
communities; 5) An overall improvement in the qual-
ity of education with a greater emphasis on a junior
and senior high school curricula that focuses on sci-
ence, technology, engineering, arts, and math; and 6)
A growing and robust agricultural sector “so that we
can move closer to ‘farm to table,’ and move away from
processed and sugar-laden food.”
In January, 2015, Governor Mapp ended his State of
the Territory address with the following words: “Our
challenges require courage and hard work. The team
we have assembled to lead our departments and agen-
cies and our senior staffs do possess the training, ex-
perience, and know-how to help move this territory to
a better place. But just as important, we need each
of you, our community’s citizens, to help push change
forward. . . We are looking forward to working with each
of you. . . and seeking common ground upon which we
can build a brighter future for our people. . .”
