Financial Crisis: What Happened To The $100 Million Windfall Identified By Plaskett?
- Ernice Gilbert
- February 17, 2017
While Virgin Islands lawmakers and the Mapp administration continue to debate a contentious sin tax bill, which culminated in a massive protest in St. Thomas on Thursday, and which continues to be passionately opposed by the business community and a large swath of Virgin Islanders, the announcement of a purported $100 million windfall in miscalculated rum cover-over funds owed to the territory, which was ostensibly identified by Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, has made no headway. There's been no comment on the matter from Government House; lawmakers have remained mum, and Ms. Plaskett has yet to issue a followup press release after her initial announcement almost two weeks ago. The funds would serve as a saving grace for the $110 million budget deficit that is disrupting government operations, and perhaps forestall the passage of Mr. Mapp's unpopular sin tax measure, which the administration says is needed to rid the territory of its structural deficit, and bolster the...
