It’s True: Mapp Administration Making Big Tax Refund Payouts

ST. CROIX — The Mapp administration is keeping its promise of accelerating the tax refund process and issuing checks to residents who the government has owed for multiple years, VI Consortium can confirm.

A resident, who requested anonymity because of privacy concerns, revealed to VI Consortium that the government had issued a tax refund check worth $5964.20 for the year 2013. Furthermore, VI Consortium was able to confirm with other people who’ve received 2013 refunds amounting to thousands of dollars.

This person is expecting to receive 2012 and 2014 returns still owed by the government, however, gratitude was expressed for the nearly $6,000 received.

On April 20, Governor Kenneth Mapp said on talk radio that his administration had advised members of the 31st Legislation of its decision to start delivering tax refunds to residents of the territory to the tune of $4.2 million on a monthly basis.

The governor revealed his administration’s intent during a wide-ranging interview with popular St. Croix radio personality Mario Moorehead on WDHP 1620 A.M., while discussing a myriad of issues facing the territory and how he plans to solve them.

“We came into the government and there were no tax refunds being issued,” Mapp said. “We announced that we would start out by issuing tax refunds at $500,000 a month — we were able to move that to $750,000 a month and we have brought that up to now a million dollars a month.”

He added: “We advised the members of the legislature yesterday that our plan is to move that to $4.2 million a month in terms of getting folks their tax refunds in the territory.”

Previously, the governor said while his administration would lift the freeze on tax returns, refunds would not go out to everyone in tandem, but rather a trickle down approach would be enabled until the government had a better handle on its financial standing.

“Let me caution you that obviously we’re going to begin with the oldest tax refunds that are due and owing, but this is not going to come out in droves, we’re going to turn the faucet on, and as my commissioner of finance says to us, [we will] sprinkle them out,” Mapp said at a press conference held in Government House on St. Croix in February. “As the revenues come in and we get a greater hold on the financial condition, we will increase the amount of refunds that will be paid.”

The governor’s latest comments show that the administration has deeper knowledge of where it stands financially, which means more residents should start seeing refunds in their mailboxes.

Feature Image: 2013 tax refund check of a resident worth nearly $6,000.