WASHINGTON — Investors considering doing business in the U.S. Virgin Islands will find out what this United States territory has to offer at the virtual 2021 SelectUSA Investment Summit starting tomorrow.
Wayne L. Biggs Jr., CEO of the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, will lead the authority’s economic development team when it participates in the summit from June 7 – 11. The VIEDA is also a ‘Diamond Sponsor’ of the summit.
VIEDA will be among several U.S. economic development organizations, alongside international and domestic investors, senior White House officials, and state and local government representatives who will participate.
During this summit, the VIEDA team will promote the U.S. Virgin Islands’ tax incentive program and VI business opportunities to attract new investors to the territory. The team will also include Margarita A. Benjamin, director of applications for economic development at the Virgin Islands Economic Development Commission; and Shanell Petersen, managing director, Marketing and Vision 2040. The team 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 a 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, Economic Development Bank, the Economic Development Park Corporation – the VIEDA also
1) offers tax exemptions and 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 other opportunities to invest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, go to www.investusvirginislands.com.