Mapp Promotes Territory As Business-Friendly On CBS In Atlanta

ST. CROIX — Governor Kenneth Mapp has long argued that the reason he’s off island so often, is because he’s constantly in search of partners with the wherewithal to spur growth through new development in the territory.

Mapp’s recent whirlwind trip saw stops in Washington, D.C., Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia and continues to West Virginia before making his way back to the to the islands on July 26. Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter leaves today for Canada to attend the Pan American Games as a “delegation leader”.

The governor was interviewed by CBS’s local Atlanta broadcast, WGLC-TV, where he made yet another strong case on behalf of the islands, giving a myriad of good reasons as to why tourists should come here.

“You can jump on Delta Airlines right here in Hartsfield and in two and a half hours you’ll be on St. Thomas or St. Croix,” Mapp told the news anchor on Tuesday. “You do not need a passport; your driver’s license can get you right in the U.S. Virgin Islands [as] we’re part of the United States, but we have fun, sun, beautiful people, wonderful food, a lot of things to do. Three islands with three different experiences,” he continued.

The governor would not allow the interview to come to a close without exposing the territory’s EDC program to potential investors, while boasting its internet infrastructure as the best in the western hemisphere bar New York and New Jersey.

“[The Virgin Islands] provides a business environment that is unmatched by any place in America,” Mapp said. “The federal government has given the Virgin Islands government the ability to reduce the federal tax obligation by 90 percent, and we have no state taxes.

“We also have connectivity — seven intercontinental shelf cables that were brought by global crossing that come into St. Croix, which gives the Virgin Islands the largest bandwidth capacity than any place in the western hemisphere.”

Watch the full video immediately below, courtesy WGLC-TV Atlanta.