Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 31, 2025

$2.3M collected from 7% money transfer services fee so far- Premier Fahie

$2.3M collected from 7% money transfer services fee so far- Premier Fahie

Figures released during the Eighth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly (HoA) at Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duff's Bottom on May 11, 2021, by Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1), shows that the 7% fee on money transfer services in the Virgin Islands has brought in over $2.3 Million to government.

Legislation for the fee to be implemented was passed in the House of Assembly on April 17, 2020.

“The figure that has been reported to me and I share it with this House is that they have collected $2,314,958.21. That, Mr Speaker, is so far what has been collected and also transferred to central government from Financial Services Commission (FSC).”

Premier Fahie said the figure now means that $462,991.64 is now in a fund for senior citizens, first-time homeowners, fisheries and agriculture and infrastructure.

These areas were identified as the five areas that would benefit from 20% of the tax.

Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) said the Financing and Money Services (Amendment) Act 2021 will now pave the way for the Financial Services Commission to be able to collect its $10,000 administrative fee per quarter for collecting and disbursing the funds from the money transfer services industry to government.


Drop in the bucket


The Premier stated to the HoA that the figure is “a drop in the bucket if this initiative was implemented form years ago. Projection shows that we would have been in the millions in each of the heads.”

He added: “Although we will revisit it from time to time even with the percentage over time, the fact is, for the years I have been in politics, one thing I have learned if you do not speak to the country’s money to direct it just like you would speak to your own money and direct it where it should go to help the people it would speak for you and go in areas that when it disappears in terms of going into other projects you don’t realise the true impact of what the funds should have been impacting.”

Legislation for the money transfer services fee to be implemented for the benefit of Government was passed in the House of Assembly on April 17, 2020.


Amendment to allow FSC to be paid


The Premier and Minister of Finance made the disclosure while introducing the Financing and Money Services (Amendment) Act 2021, which will now pave the way for the Financial Services Commission to be able to collect its $10,000 administrative fee per quarter for collecting and disbursing the funds from the money transfer services industry to government.

Premier Fahie said, as per the agreement between government and the FSC, the FSC was unable to withdraw the fees from the funds before sending the government’s share to it.

“In order to do that, there needed to be an amendment to the Act to allow FSC to deduct their monies every quarter rather than having it sent over to central government. The issue is the Act does not allow central government to pay it back over to FSC; the money for FSC is now stuck.”

The Bill was read for the second time and went into a committee of the whole House to be examined clause by clause.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×