New VI Tax on Internet Purchases

I agree property taxes here are ridiculously low compared to where I’m from in New England.  At the same time total housing costs, taxes, insurance and maintenance in total are higher than New England and ultimately that’s the important thing to look at.

The other lesson on increasing property taxes is once this starts it’s a drug for the local government.  The taxes on our home on Martha’s Vineyard have increased 500% since we built the home 25 years ago and the increase would have been 1000% but we took our town to tax court (but ultimately settled out of court) when our taxes doubled in one year.  Our home there is a modest 1700 sqft. cape style house built on land that’s been in our family for 4 generations.

If you raise property taxes you will drive out the middle class (who are mobile) and burden the needy (who aren’t nearly as mobile).  The truly wealthy only care about amenities, crime and maybe health care (as they’re extremely mobile).

Property taxes are there to provide for essential services not feed the social agenda of the Political Class or bail out the government excesses of the last 50 years. 

I agree. RA taxes are low but costs of RA ownership are rather high. So this balances low taxes. 

Solving budgetary problem by raising taxes is never the answer. We started from no tax 150 years ago we we are now  up to the point where the government takes over 30% of income mostly from middle and upper middle class where working poor operate in grey economy and pay no taxes at all and Uber rich pay little in terms of % of generated income. 

So guys who get up every morning to go to work and get that paycheck bringing $50-150K a year get screwed the most. They also don’t get much in return for their tax burden like socialized free healthcare or free graduate education but mostly shoulder globalist American politics, irresponsible immigration laws and support a bunch of welfare freeloaders. 

So the answer to all of this is relatively simple. The budget has to be balanced. If the government borrows the money it has to be invested to produce future growth not spent on consumption. More revenue should be generated by bringing more business and that’s done by being business friendly, not generating massive red tape. 

This utopia is so evident in VI. More so than anywhere else in US. 30% on welfare, 30% working for the government and 20% operating in grey economy. This does not leave much for tax revenues. 

Posted by: @STTsailor

I agree. RA taxes are low but costs of RA ownership are rather high. So this balances low taxes. 

Solving budgetary problem by raising taxes is never the answer. We started from no tax 150 years ago we we are now  up to the point where the government takes over 30% of income mostly from middle and upper middle class where working poor operate in grey economy and pay no taxes at all and Uber rich pay little in terms of % of generated income. 

So guys who get up every morning to go to work and get that paycheck bringing $50-150K a year get screwed the most. They also don’t get much in return for their tax burden like socialized free healthcare or free graduate education but mostly shoulder globalist American politics, irresponsible immigration laws and support a bunch of welfare freeloaders. 

So the answer to all of this is relatively simple. The budget has to be balanced. If the government borrows the money it has to be invested to produce future growth not spent on consumption. More revenue should be generated by bringing more business and that’s done by being business friendly, not generating massive red tape. 

 

This utopia is so evident in VI. More so than anywhere else in US. 30% on welfare, 30% working for the government and 20% operating in grey economy. This does not leave much for tax revenues. 

 

1. The cost of real estate ownership is personal and irrelevant to a tax discussion. On the front end, you understand that there is a property tax when you purchase or otherwise acquire a property. There is no balance for low taxes - except in our personal finances. 

2. In the Virgin Islands, nearly 28% of people are under the age of 19. Nearly 14% are over the age of 65. That is 42% who aren't earning money and paying payroll taxes. These people are not freeloaders or the welfare class. They are children and grandparents.

3. There are approximately 37,000 persons in the Virgin Islands workforce. This leaves 21,000 persons in the gray area or cash economy.

3. The median hourly wage in the Virgin Islands is just under $15/hour equating to about $31K per year. 

4. Love it or not, many Virgin Islanders work for government enterprises - and 11% of each dollar is given to GERS, health insurance and other benefits are taken out, and then the balance is left to taxes and take home. I don't know this as a fact, but I suspect there are government employees who live in poverty to support their retirements and health care costs. I also suspect many qualify for SNAP and governmental programs aimed at low income wage earners.

Posted by: @gators_mom

Love it or not, many Virgin Islanders work for government enterprises

I have no issue with Government employees, the issue is, only the private sector generates wealth so the size of the Government (and it’s spending), in the long run, is limited by this fact.  We’re continuing to dig ourselves into a hole by financial engineering and borrowing that will someday (maybe soon) create a genuine financial crisis.  The real question is how will the Government get to a balanced (or surplus) budget.  The math is simple, cut spending, raise taxes, in some combination.  The politics are the hard part because Politicians want to stay in power and raising taxes or cutting spending isn’t going to get you re-elected, that’s the conundrum.  

Posted by: @jaldeborgh

Posted by: @gators_mom

Love it or not, many Virgin Islanders work for government enterprises

I have no issue with Government employees, the issue is, only the private sector generates wealth so the size of the Government (and it’s spending), in the long run, is limited by this fact.  We’re continuing to dig ourselves into a hole by financial engineering and borrowing that will someday (maybe soon) create a genuine financial crisis.  The real question is how will the Government get to a balanced (or surplus) budget.  The math is simple, cut spending, raise taxes, in some combination.  The politics are the hard part because Politicians want to stay in power and raising taxes or cutting spending isn’t going to get you re-elected, that’s the conundrum.  

I have followed the VI government closely for many years. Given that the USVI is still recovering from the hurricanes and responsible for matching FEMA monies in many cases. dealing with the effects of COVID-19, responsible for a failing electrical system, schools, hospitals and on and on .... it is not reasonable to think there is much room to cut the operating budget.  

The math is indeed simple. 

The Granny's house analogy from our governor is deplorable. It is our government who failed to address these issues by kicking the can down the road, wasteful spending, and pandering. How many senators are really necessary for our relatively small population? Let's start there. We could fill pages with relevant and meaningful ways to reduce the bloated budget. 

As for the international shipping status change, do we know why this occurred? It was a wonderful option to shop Walmart online with free shipping on orders at $35. Also, Amazon Prime was impacted with a $10 international shipping fee. Getting the international shipping status changed again would be a blessing for many.

As many of us still wait for our 2017 tax refunds, the taxation measures fuels our concerns and lack of confidence in this government. The DOL is several months behind in making unemployment payments. Some unemployed are only now receiving payments due from April. It's time for the feds to come in and audit rather than forgive debt and provide more handouts as the governor requests.

Oopsie...I meant gross receipts, not excise...

You can't get anyone to take over the hospitals when the number of self-pay and Medicaid patients is so high. Dr. Heath tried selling Seaview, the only Medicare/Medicaid approved skilled nursing facility in the VI, and couldn't find a buyer. Now the territorial government is taking care of people, but are not doing rehab, nor are they getting MC/MA money.