Feb. 25, 2003 – Thanks to implementation this month of four-year-old legislation, the V.I. government is now deducting the territory's 4 percent gross receipts tax from payments to its vendors.
Internal Revenue Bureau attorney Tamarah Parson-Smalls said on Tuesday that the measure became law in 1999. She said it has taken since then for the Finance Department to fine-tune its system to make the deductions.
In case you want to look up this law, you'll find it in Title 33, Chapter 3, section 44 of the V.I. Code. Single payments of $30,000 or more and all payments relative to contracts for $120,000 or more are subject to the withholding.
The implementation of withhold was announced Tuesday in a press release issued by Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull, who by virtue of her office is serving as acting governor with the governor and lieutenant governoer both out of the territory. According to the commissioner, the Finance Department will forward the money to the Internal Revenue Bureau "within 10 days following the month concerned."
Vendors should report the withheld tax as a credit on their gross receipts tax return for the month in which payment is received, the release states. For further information, call Parson-Smalls at 774-5865, ext. 2249.
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