St. Thomas Real Estate Trends

As reported in the USVI Daily News:

"First-time home buyers in the Virgin Islands are eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 that is being given to other new homeowners in the mainland United States under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen said in a press release that there had been concern about the tax credit's availability in the territory because language in the stimulus bill states that people who are residents of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., are eligible for it.

Internal Revenue Bureau Director Claudette Watson-Anderson said the territory's residents are eligible for the tax credit because the territorial tax code is exactly the same as the federal tax code.

The tax credit is not expected to affect the territory's revenues. Watson-Anderson said the credit should be covered by funds from the federal government to reimburse the Virgin Islands for several tax reductions.

"It should be coming out of the $50 million that the federal government is going to give us to pay out credits," Watson-Anderson said.

The credit is available to qualified people buying their first primary residence this year, and will be applied to 2009 income taxes. For information, contact the IRB at 773-1040 on St. Croix, 715-1040 on St. Thomas, and 777-1446 on St. John."