If you’re preparing to invest in real property in the U.S. Virgin Islands, chances are you’ve been saving for quite some time to get to the point where you can make your purchase. With the amount of time and effort you’ve put into your savings and into researching the property you’ve purchased, it’s important you
Tom Bolt
Financing Options to Start or Grow a Business in the U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority has a variety of financing options in place to help entrepreneurs in the Territory start a new business or grow an existing one.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the available loan programs, administered by the VIEDA’s Economic Development Bank.
- State Small Business Credit Initiative: The State
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Nonprofits: Establishing and Protecting Tax-Exempt Status
For nonprofit organizations, navigating the process of establishing tax-exempt status can be a challenging experience, but the benefits are more than worth the effort. Contributors being able to deduct donations from your taxes, being exempt from income and property taxes and having access to funding through grants, for example, are just a few of the…
Protecting Your “Trade Secrets” in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Does your company have confidential information? What about trade secrets? The concept of owning and protecting confidential information or trade secrets may not have occurred to most businesses. Yet, if you have a client list, pricing formula, particular device or pattern of installation, you have intellectual property worth protecting. This information is no less important to your business than your star employee or your brand name, and it deserves the same diligent protection.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, a trade secret is considered to be information used in a business that is secret and gives a competitive advantage. It may be a formula, pattern or device, a compound, a manufacturing process, a pattern for a machine or a customer list.
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Signs of Economic Improvement: USVI Bonds Pick Up
While the U.S. Virgin Islands’ bonds are still rated in junk status, there are some significant signs of improvement and glimmers of hope for economic recovery in the territory. The price of some of the Territory’s bonds has more than doubled since the end of 2017, thanks in large part to a boom in construction during the post-hurricane rebuild and the reopening of the St. Croix oil refinery. Now, economic experts in the Territory feel good about the growth in the local economy believe there is a positive future for the territory’s bond ratings.
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Study: USVI Lost 4,500 Jobs After Hurricanes of Fall 2017
Information gathered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group shed some light on the effects of the hurricanes of Fall 2017 on the economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands, including the statistic that the territory lost 4,500 jobs in the wake of the hurricanes.
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How to Write an Effective Business Plan
A strong, concise business plan is crucial when starting a new business. Not only will it give you a roadmap for how you will grow your business in its early years, but it will also be useful for investors, who want to see that you have a well-thought-out venture that has a good chance of being viable and sustainable before they invest their money into it.
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What Legal Duties do Directors and Officers of Nonprofit Organizations Have?
Directors and officers of nonprofit organizations are often volunteers who receive no form of financial compensation. However, they still have a fiduciary duty to their organizations, and breaching that duty could result in them being personally liable for any damages they cause to the organization.
With this in mind, here are some of those legal…
How Nonprofit Directors Can Avoid Legal Liability
There are some circumstances in which directors of nonprofit organizations can be held legally liable for acts they carried on behalf of the organization, or acts that could be construed as them representing the organization.
With the potential for legal liability constantly looming, it is imperative that the organization have a commitment at all levels…
U.S. Treasury Approves Capital Tax Break Zones in U.S. Virgin Islands
This April, the United States Treasury announced it approved 14 different neighborhoods on St. Croix and St. Thomas as being Qualified Opportunity Zones, meaning they are eligible for federal tax breaks under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in December.
In a statement, U.S.…