Tim Duncan and Gov. Charles Turnbull will sign a tentative contract Friday under which the Crucian basketball star will pay income taxes in the Virgin Islands and promote the territory in return for unspecified tax breaks on future business endeavors.
As of Thursday, The Source was unable to obtain a copy of the contract from Government House despite numerous requests. Joel Holt, the attorney who drafted the contract for Duncan, couldn’t be reached for comment.
A Government House press release said the administration has entered into a tentative agreement with Duncan and his corporation, T.D. Enterprises. Turnbull said the agreement provides tax incentive benefits to T.D. Enterprises that are linked to Duncan re-establishing residency on St. Croix, paying his personal income taxes to the V.I. government and establishing the headquarters of his company in the territory.
In return for Duncan appearing in an unknown number of promotional advertisements for the Virgin Islands and paying his personal income taxes in the territory, which could mean several million dollars a year in government revenue, depending on Duncan’s future professional basketball and commercial promotions contracts, the government will bestow unspecified tax breaks on T.D. Enterprises, the company that will handle Duncan’s merchandising and sponsorship deals.
According to an individual familiar with the contract, T.D. Enterprises includes six stockholders who have not been named.
Government House spokeswoman Rina McBrowne said once the contract is signed on Friday, it will be transmitted to Senate President Vargrave Richards that day or Monday. At that point, she said, copies will be made public.
"It’s still considered a tentative contract until it’s signed," she said, explaining why a copy couldn’t be made public prior to the signing.
The governor said he is "pleased that we were able to work out an agreement that will help to promote the Virgin Islands and bring business into the territory, especially at this time in our history when positive publicity is vitally needed, as well as an influx of commercial activity," she said.