Government

Third Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Occupancy Tax Collected From Timeshare Owners by V.I. Gov't is Constitutional

The V.I. Department of Justice announced Monday the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the V.I. government's collection of an occupancy tax on timeshare units is constitutional. According to the V.I. D.O.J., after the passage of the Virgin Islands Revenue Enhancement and Economic Recovery Act of 2017, several timeshare owners, American Resort Development Association – Resort Owners’ Coalition and Great Bay Condominium Owner’s Association, Inc., filed lawsuits in the District Court of the Virgin Islands challenging the $25 per day occupancy fee imposed on owners of timeshare units in the Virgin Islands under the Act. The Act allocates the revenues from the timeshare tax to the Virgin Islands Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund, the General Fund, and, for a period of time, to the VIESA Contingency Reserve Account. The timeshare plaintiffs challenged that statute primarily on the basis that it is unconstitutional, claiming that it violates that Equal Protection Clause, the Privil...