Business

Sin Tax Bill Breezes Through Rules Committee, Heads To Full Body For Final Vote

ST. CROIX -- Senate Democrats Novelle Francis, Jean Forde, Myron Jackson and Sammuel Sanes, in the face of stiff opposition from the private sector and the community, pushed through Governor Kenneth Mapp's sin tax measure that will raise taxes on sodas, rum, tobacco products, as well as timeshare unit owners and internet purchases. They also passed a measure that creates a base of $360 on property tax exemptions. Their decision to favorably forward the measures to the full Senate, where the bills will face a final vote before heading to the governor who is expected to sign them into law, came on Thursday at the Fritz Lawaetz Legislature in Frederiksted, against a backdrop of a small group of business leaders protesting the bills. St. Croix Chamber of Commerce Chair Kimberly McCollum expressed disappointment during her testimony that some lawmakers, she said, were avoiding to meet with the chamber. "This is more than disappointing, it is extremely discouraging that after the first,...