The Chamber has been invited to offer testimony this Friday before the Committee on Economic Development, Technology and Agriculture on Bill # 29-0087 to expand the Economic Development Commission (EDC) program to attract more small businesses to the Territory. The bill is sponsored by Senators Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, Terrance “Positive” Nelson and Neville James and would enable small businesses that locate to the Territory to qualify for EDC benefits without having to meet the current requirements of investing at least $100,000 excluding inventory, and hiring at least 10 Virgin Islands residents. Instead the bill would allow small and start-up businesses, such as software developers, commercial art services, web and graphic designers, and Blog and social media management, to qualify for EDC benefits provided they have non-USVI source income and they agree to:
¾ Hire at least one Virgin Island resident for every $1,000,000 in net income prior to salaries.
¾ Purchase or build a home in the Virgin Islands within 18 months of obtaining EDC benefits as evidence of permanent residency.
