Should residents withhold taxes over poor roads?
Efforts by Virgin Gorda villa owners to withhold hotel accommodation taxes due to an unsafe public road have sparked debate over whether residents should use tax payments to compel government action on failing infrastructure.
The situation drew attention on this week’s Talking Points show, where hosts discussed a report from the Mahoe Bay area indicating that business owners withheld taxes from the government and deployed those funds toward road repairs.
Co-host Elvin Grant questioned the legal position.
“The withholding of government revenue just like that is a fairly draconian step,” he said. He warned about wider copycat moves. “Just imagine if we started; everyone started withholding taxes for stuff that the government haven’t done?”
The hosts linked the Virgin Gorda dispute to a broader breakdown in basic services, noting that poor roads were affecting visitors as well. Co-host Damion Grange referenced a safari bus excursion where a gentleman said he thought he was going to die because the vehicle was swaying to avoid potholes.
Grant, however, cautioned against shifting core responsibilities away from the state.
Under Virgin Islands law, hotel accommodation tax is imposed under the Hotel Accommodation (Taxation) Ordinance, Cap 205, which is one of the revenue laws referenced in the government’s new SIGTAS tax administration legislation Miscellaneous Amendments (SIGTAS) (Validation) Act, 2025.
Background
In a commentary published in September in the BVI Beacon, Christina Yates, the owner of Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals (VGVR), described repeated flooding in May 2024 and August 2025 that damaged beachfront properties and further undermined the Mahoe Bay–Mango Bay public road.
“This inaction and neglect create a dangerous situation for motorists and residents,” the VGVR manager wrote, warning that a full road collapse “would sever the only alternate access routes to the North Sound and Nail Bay areas.”
The letter said Public Works staff had visited “on several occasions” but that “no meaningful work or maintenance has been carried out” in 15 months. VGVR argued that homeowners and the company had borne the cost of repeated clean‑up and that staff livelihoods were at risk.
The manager issued a two‑week ultimatum: “Within 14 days of Aug. 20, we require a detailed plan of action from the government,” including a start date and timeline for drainage upgrades and road stabilisation. If not, “VGVR will have no alternative but to withhold hotel accommodation taxes payable to the government” and use the money instead to install culverts and stabilise the road, while documenting all costs.
VGVR framed the move as a duty to protect the community. “VGVR believes we have a moral responsibility to the residents of Virgin Gorda, our homeowners, our staff and our guests to act where the government has not and seems unwilling to act,” the commentary stated. “We believe that when the government fails the people repeatedly and even causes life-threatening situations to exist for long periods of time, then the citizens are entitled to act.”
A recent Facebook post noted that owners “took the unprecedented step of withholding a portion of hotel accommodation taxes to fund essential remedial works themselves.” The post said the works included “installing new culverts and stabilising the severely undermined section of the Mahoe Bay–Mango Bay road” and that repairs were on track for completion by December 12.
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I’ve been saying we should get tax returns cuz really and truly you don’t see how tax doing anything positive for the country
cuz all the tax increases we getting with little to no returns like Better infrastructure, services, roads, electricity,water etc
Might as well give us tax returns cuz y’all just enriching y’all self off of it instead of fixing and improving the country.
That lil nonsense we get at the start of the year where you get no payroll tax on yah January pay check is a slap to the face when you see that all the taxes you paid year after year and the country still looks and operates like a 3rd world country. Do y’all not smell the sewage in road town??? Or you have your big 40k vehicles ac on recirculation so you don’t smell the filth??
Run them tax returns mehson cuz them just eating out the taxes and stealing it . Just give us our tax back at the end of the year
Don’t forget the big spending on expensive parties with artist that comes and go with out the country with our tac monies. Give back our tax return and stop given people out monies we work so hard for.
This is illegal.
A a necessary evil. All heroes don’t wear capes.
This is illegal.
There is nothing NECESSARY about EVIL. Cut the bull nonsense as Lavity would say.
As frustrating as this is, with holding taxes due is de facto taking the law into your own hands and making a private decision, no matter how righteous, about money that is public. Withholding taxes to use them for the common good is not likely to get anyone off the hook from any taxes they may owe unless there was express agreement. Otherwise anyone could tell the taxman they ain’t got the money because you spent they spent fixing up a road, or picking up the trash.
Plus, it could cost more than its worth to defend oneself from the taxman. Lawyers, accountants, time to deal with it, with no guarantee of getting off taxes due.
That said, it’s not clear whether the state of the roads of tge Territory is more maddening than the long trail of broken promises to fix them or the perpetual band aid fixes. There really should be a funded master plan, but that’s also not likely.
It should be illegal for gov’t to take OUR tax dollars and spend it on everything but US
TAXES NEED TO BE STOPPED AS IT DIRECTLY PERTAINS TO SLAVERY IT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED PERIOD.
It start. People are not marching no. They are going to squeeze government where it hurts.
The residents that don’t get a vote should withold their taxes.
No Tax Without Representation.
Then those residence work permit and visas will be revoked. Let us think before we type.
And so proving that this is not a democracy but an authoritarian state.
Resulting in full employment for VIslanders and all the downislanders will be gone and so crime fixed and the problems that are constantly complained about instantly fixed because they are all caused by expats.
AND democracy restored.
Not seeing the downside.
You ain’t born with sense ?? Lmao
Those “residents” are bonafide residents elsewhere and should return to their true residences,where they suck salt and barely exist
but can vote to their hearts content.
They need to pay their taxes, if the government is not performing, address this at the polls.
Been doing that for years… how that work out? Government need be held responsible for the dumb things they always doing elections here just a popularity contest.
70% of those paying tax don’t have a vote.
The purpose of tax is for such things as public roads and what not. Somewhere along the line politicians felt entitled to use it willy nilly. I think they did the right thing and if everyone followed until government got their act together the bvi would probably be better off.
NAH MY BOY TAXES WAS INVENTED IN SLAVERY DAYS NOT A THING TO DO WITH FIXING NO ROADS OR NOTHING
Them have a right Myron say it he self once is party he going find the money meanwhile we fast becoming a s#!+hole country. I push in the right direction people fed up of these clowns .
Not only the roads in shambles, the sidewalk over the island needs major repairs, if you are not careful you fall through the huge cracks and hole in the sidewalk uneven , huge cavities and major accidents and falls waiting to happen. We need not only to do better by the citizen but also by the many tourists and visitors we get every day. Environmental tax, Ivisa tax, all kind of taxes and new taxes. Important infrastructure is not improved
Please list the ‘taxes’ that BVIslanders have to pay. We have over 2500 Civil Servants and a non-contributory pension scheme and think that paying 8% of your salary can cover that plus roads, schools, medical facilities, healthcare for youth and elderly?
If the people and the government have an agreement to use the tax money to fix the road then its fine. But if not those persons will have to pay the taxes regardless of what it was use for. The laws stipulate the return of the taxes to the government, and it won’t change to accommodate someone with an issue that they needed to fix urgently. Government defining the word urgency and that of the people are not the same. The budget stipulate what get done.
So, it would be best to do as the laws stated, and not you own thing, people would want to follow suite with the comment” you do it for Paul, what happen to me, you could do it for me too” this is where the people would rise to put government out of control, so it is best not to start something you cannot control.
Two taxes I see we pay are CAP.
Environmental Taxes and Road Taxes.
The environment is filthy and our roads are taxing us. There has to be a way to recoup funding from the government for these poor conditions we face.
That co host sound soft
Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar.
The question is only being asked because it’s a wealthy white expat investor (BVI Belonger) that is doing the deed. If it was a BVIslander it would have been an entirely different story. We are a sick self-hating society that will be eaten away from within. Can a local business person withhold Inland Revenue payment to repair the govt road to their business?
I’m withholding my NHI bbecause they refuse to help me withy my overseas on-going reatment
You have control over the amount you declare… hint hint
all that tax money gone to hodges creek road and we still going into 2026 with road not finished looool only in the bvi mehson.
but hey UK we enemy them say
#Bankofasia
People are not upset because of the conditions of any roads, people are upset because the gravy train jumped the tracks. A few years ago over $15mil was given out to people who didn’t qualify for it or needed it. $15mil. How many roads could that have repaired? VG Clinic would have been up and running with 1/4 of that money. How many people are advocating for that money to be given back? Nobody? Ok, stop pretending to give a f**k because none of you don’t! If we really had principles we would be calling for a proper investigation and claw back of every dime where it’s proven that person did not qualify for COVID Grants or the Fisher/Farmer Stimulus. Meanwhile because that little free money dried up and you can’t get anymore, all of a sudden people care again.
Sure why not. just tell the Gnat we can have a big concert/party when all the roads are fixed
since 2015 they never fix the road just eating only money adn spending money on their pocket
As a professional pedestrian, the pot holes are now taking our ankles. Atleast the people of the BVI know who not to vote for next election, maybe then we will throw our own party…. without our tax money
Taxes are a big lie. When you see them palestinians getting blown up where do you think the money for the missiles comes from. Pacifist should not support that crap. The reason we pay taxes is because those other countries will cry unfair.
Vehicle owners needs a moratorium on front end parts for there vehicles for the deplorable roads they are forced to drive on