In keeping with a pledge made recently by Governor Albert Bryan Jr., more tax refund checks have been mailed out to Virgin Islanders ahead of the holidays.

During Monday's Government House press briefing, Communications Director Richard Motta announced that $15 million in refunds have been released to taxpayers who had filed returns by April 25, 2023. “This includes over 5916 taxpayers who will now receive their 2022 refunds,” Mr. Motta indicated, saying that the issuance of these tax refunds is a “clear and undeniable marker of the progress this administration has made in addressing the years of backlogged payments that burdened Virgin Islanders in the past.”

According to Mr. Motta, the effort the administration is putting into processing tax refunds in a timely manner “is evidence of the Bryan-Roach administration's commitment to fundamentally changing how government works for the people of the Virgin Islands.”

Noting that this has been a “persistent challenge” for many years, Mr. Motta acknowledged the hardship and frustration faced by families “often left waiting months, sometimes years, for money that belonged to them.” He disclosed that $67 million in income tax refunds have been disbursed in 2024. “This represents not just a financial accomplishment, but a major shift in the way government operates,” Mr. Motta emphasized, noting that the regular disbursements of tax refunds “is the result of deliberate planning, disciplined fiscal management, and a refusal to accept the status quo.”

The administration's prioritization on timely tax refund distribution, Mr. Motta said, was a demonstration that the government was serious about rebuilding the eroded trust of the citizenry. He thanked the employees of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Finance, “whose teams have worked tirelessly to make these payments possible.”

As with past tax refund announcements, Mr. Motta did not address the still-outstanding retroactive payments due to some eligible government retirees and their families.