CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – June 4, 2021 -
Prospective business investors will get an inside look into the benefits of doing business in the U.S. Virgin Islands along with an invitation to consider a United States territory in the Caribbean as a prime destination for business development during the virtual 2021 SelectUSA Investment Summit. Wayne L. Biggs, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, will lead the VIEDA economic development team for the Authority's participation in this summit from June 7 – 11, 2021. The VIEDA is also a Diamond Sponsor of this summit.
The VIEDA will be among several U.S. economic development organizations, along side international and domestic investors, senior White House officials, and state and local government representatives that will participate in this summit.
During this summit, the VIEDA economic development team will promote the U.S. Virgin Islands’ tax incentive program and USVI business opportunities to attract new investors to the USVI. This team will also include Margarita A. Benjamin, director of Applications for Economic Development at the Virgin Islands Economic Development Commission (VIEDC); and Shanell Petersen, managing director, Marketing and Vision 2040, all of whom will engage in several networking activities including speaking engagements and one-on-one business meetings.
VIEDA representatives will also host a virtual exhibitor booth to engage with international and domestic investors and high-level corporate decision makers as they promote the U.S. Virgin Islands as an attractive destination for business investment. The SelectUSA Investment Summit “draws more than 3,000 attendees, and historically attracts more than 1,200 business investors from approximately 80 international markets.”
The VIEDC - an entity of the VIEDA - offers 90 percent reduction in corporate and personal income tax, 100 percent exemption on business property tax and excise tax payments and a reduction in the customs duty from the standard 6 percent to 1 percent. The VIEDC also administers the VIEDC Small Business Tax Incentive Program, the Eligible V.I. Suppliers Program and the Hotel Development Program.
As the umbrella Authority for three other entities – the Enterprise Zone Commission (EZC), Economic Development Bank (EDB), the Economic Development Park Corporation (EDPC) - the VIEDA also 1) offers tax exemptions & tax credits through the EZC to rehabilitate properties in enterprise zones which are distressed areas that were once vibrant communities; 2) offers low-interest loans to small-to-medium sized businesses and an incubator program through the EDB, and 3) affordable commercial spaces for lease at the EDPC.
To learn more about SelectUSA, visit www.selectusasummit.us/About/SelectUSA .
For more information about the VIEDA and its entities, visit www.usvieda.org. To learn about to other opportunities to invest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, go to www.investusvirginislands.com .
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