Under
the Fiscal Incentives Act, four types of enterprises
qualify for a tax holiday. The length of the tax
holiday ranges from 10 to 15 years. St. Kitts and
Nevis provides companies with a further tax
concession effective at the end of the tax holiday
period. Full exemption from import duties on parts,
raw materials and production machinery is also
available. Companies registered in St. Kitts and
Nevis can repatriate all profits, dividends and
imported capital.
The
Hotel Aids Ordinance provides relief from customs
duties and pier duties in items brought into the
country for use in the construction, extension and
equipment of a hotel of not less than 10 bedrooms.
In addition, the Income Tax Ordinance provides
special tax relief benefits for a hotel proprietor
who has been granted a licence under the Hotel Aids
Ordinance. This stipulates that the gains or profits
of a hotel are exempt from income tax for 5 years if
the hotel has 30 or less bedrooms, and for 10 years
if it has more than 30 bedrooms.
St. Kitts and Nevis offers trade incentives under US Tariff Schedule 806 and 807, Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), Lomé Convention, Business Advisory Services (BAS), Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), Caribican, Puerto Rico income tax credit under Section 936 of its Internal Revenue Code and financing under its Caribbean Development Program (CDP).Certain businesses need licences and applicants should seek advice locally on each occasion.
St. Kitts and Nevis ranked 85th worldwide and 6th
among the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean
States, in the World
Bank Doing Business 2007 Report.