Governor Albert Bryan Jr. authorized the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue (IRB) to pay out an additional $5 million in income tax refunds to tax filers in the territory Wednesday.
The latest round of refunds comprises approximately 2,580 refunds covering Tax Year 2016 and represents all returns filed through April 18, 2017, except for those with errors or that were selected for audit, according to IRB Director Joel Lee.
To date, the Bryan/Roach Administration has paid out $26.5 million in income tax refunds to more than 12,000 tax filers. The figure accounts for $23.8 million in refunds and $2.7 million in interest owed.
The governor on Wednesday highlighted the administration’s set-aside of $75 million in its first executive budget to fund income tax refunds as an example of the Bryan/ Roach Administration’s commitment to paying down the debt owed by the Government of the Virgin Islands.
The governor noted that, if approved by the 33rd Legislature, the $75 million set aside in his budget will bring the Government of the Virgin Islands current on refunds that are processed and eligible to be paid, and allow the administration to achieve its goal of paying refunds in a timely manner.
“Stabilizing and restoring the trust of the people in their government is one of the priorities of my administration,” said Gov. Bryan. “That means paying taxpayers their income tax refunds, addressing the debt owed to WAPA, and it certainly means addressing the retroactive pay owed to our government employees past and present.”
