Owners of residential or commercial property, raw land, and time shares would be taxed at different rates under proposals from Gov. John deJongh which were outlined for members of the V.I. Senate last week.
In a statement, the Governor’s office said the reason for differential rates is "to not unduly impact homeowners, the elderly, and to recognize the fact the past system has not been updated or revised for decades." The Governor also invited proposals from members of the Senate on the revaluation of property taxes.
The issue of property taxes has been hot since revaluation notices were sent to owners, some of whom on St. John found their estimated assessments rising as much as 1000 percent. The Governor’s statement addressed that issue, but not with specifics, saying, "The administration outlined a proposal to mitigate the effects where property owners have experienced extraordinary increases in taxation of over 125% by providing additional tax relief."
Before the revaluations can be translated into property tax bills, however, the Territory must get approval of its proposed "constitutional and modernized real property taxation system" from the U.S. District Court. Rest assured, property tax bills will come, maybe not ‘soon come,’ but come they will.