Attorney James H. Hindels and Gabi S. Rivera have been appointed by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to the Foreign Sales Corporation Task Force the governor established earlier this year.
The task force is charged with finding ways for the government to replace the estimated $8 million to $10 million the territory stands to lose without the revenue from FSC franchise taxes and business licenses.
FSCs are affiliates of U.S. companies based in jurisdictions outside the U.S. where they can receive tax breaks of up to 30 percent on all their sales abroad. The Virgin Islands has enjoyed FSC revenues since 1985, but trouble for the FSC program started when the World Trade Organization charged last year that the U.S. program represented an unfair trade subsidy.
After Congress voted to dissolve the program, President Bill Clinton signed the measure into law last year. No new companies have been allowed to form since Clinton signed the bill, and existing companies can operate only until the end of this year.
The task force, headed by Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, now consists of nine members with the recent additions.
