Mapp Submits Bill Aimed At Attracting Financial Services Industry To USVI
ST. CROIX — During a press conference held at Government House on St. Croix on Wednesday morning, Governor Kenneth Mapp announced that he has officially submitted for legislative approval The Virgin Islands Financial Services Improvement and Corporate Modernization Act of 2017 (F.I.S.A.), which he’d previously partially detailed during a St. Croix Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting at Palms at Pelican Cove.
In a letter to Senate President Myron Jackson, Mr. Mapp wrote that the Act will “modernize Virgin Islands corporation law, based on best practices in the States and authorizes the creation of new statutory trusts, based on Delaware law, which are increasingly utilized by U.S. and international businesses to structure large and sophisticated financial transactions.”
In urging the Legislature’s approval, the territory’s leader said that F.I.S.A. will position the Virgin Islands as a center for international investment, and as a hub for economic activity on par with other states and foreign jurisdictions. It will also create new government revenue streams, more contributions to charitable causes, higher paying jobs in the financial services sector and more spending in the Virgin Islands’ economy, according to the governor.
At the press event, Mr. Mapp said that the new regulations would replace the existing general corporation laws of the Virgin Islands with a modern corporate code based on successful stateside models. Many states and foreign jurisdictions, he noted, have also modernized their trust laws to meet the evolving needs of U.S. and international businesses and investors.
Read more: http://viconsortium.com/business/mapp-submits-bill-aimed-at-attracting-financial-services-industry-to-usvi/