Government

'Granny is Getting Old': Bryan Makes Case to Tax Virgin Islanders for Purchases Made Online

Governor Albert Bryan on Tuesday during his Covid-19 response update took the closing minutes of his event to make a case for why the Virgin Islands government should tax its residents for items they purchase online. The argument follows immediate backlash Senator Novelle Francis fielded after it was made known by the Consortium Wednesday — first included in a press release from Government House last Tuesday — that the measure was afoot. In his talk, Mr. Bryan analogized the matter by likening the territory to a house that was built a while back and is in need of repair. That house, he said, is no longer youthful, and is now in fact a "granny." "We are the ones that live in this house, us Virgin Islanders. And the Legislature, myself and other people, we're like superintendents taking care of the house. The house is getting old now, and everybody's complaining. 'Oh, the house needs to paint, it needs plumbing. The plumbing isn't working. The water... we ran out of water, there's noth...