Business

Judge Molloy's Revised Excise Tax Ruling Bars V.I. Government From Resuming Collection

In a quick change of events, the V.I. Government will not be able to resume collection of excise taxes in January, following a revised order from District Court Judge Robert Molloy Thursday that said the local government must first prove that the excise tax is being levied not only on importers, but local manufacturers as well. In his ruling on Wednesday, Judge Molloy had cleared the path for the B.I.R. to resume excise tax collection in January, and Governor Albert Bryan praised the ruling as "certainly welcome news at a time when revenue for the GVI is in a precarious place because of the economic crash brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic." A ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 7 in the Reefco Services Inc. v Government of the Virgin Islands landmark case, restored the GVI's ability to once again collect excise taxes, though the government has to first prove that rules and regulations the GVI said it implemented in February 2019 were actually being followed. The an...