{"id":7771,"date":"2016-08-30T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T13:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/?p=7771"},"modified":"2019-02-12T13:47:27","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T18:47:27","slug":"dominica-fund-capital-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/dominica-fund-capital-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominica to Fund Capital Budget with Citizenship-by-Investment Dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DominicaThe Dominican government intends to fund its capital budget for the next fiscal year using funds from the country\u2019s citizenship-by-investment program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The program raised 279.9 East Caribbean dollars in the country\u2019s last fiscal year to June 30, which amounts to CAD$133.72.<\/p>\n

Dominica\u2019s president and prime minster say this shows exactly how important the program has become to the Caribbean country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Now they want the country to rally around the controversial program, which awards Dominican citizenship to individual investors for just $100,000.<\/p>\n

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Dominica CIP: Investment Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Single investor<\/td>\nUS$100,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Investor and spouse<\/td>\nUS$175,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Investor, spouse, and two children aged below 18 years<\/td>\nUS$200,000(US$50,000 per child from third child onwards)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A separate application is required for family members aged above 18 years<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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President Charles Savarin said: \u201cThe CIP \u2026 should be presented to the world as a national effort, and not as a party’s initiative mired in political controversy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us, therefore, try to understand what that program is, how it operates, the benefits to the economy, and to the opportunity of eradicating poverty that it presents.<\/p>\n

“If there is need for refinement, let us, as a people, and as a parliament, agree on such improvements that could be made to improve the program as time progresses”.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt Skerrit, the island nation\u2019s prime minister, listed off projects including the huge rebuilding effort following Tropical Storm Erika, which killed 30 people in August 2015.<\/p>\n

All, including the redevelopment of the island\u2019s major airport, were funded by the CIP.<\/p>\n

Skerrit argued Dominicans had been misled about the nature of the CIP and its importance to the island, with opportunities for foreign investment difficult to come by.<\/p>\n

Without the CIP, Skerrit said, taxes would have had to rise significantly.<\/p>\n

“Dominica is not the only country implementing a CIP; and it is not the only developing country which has introduced such a program,\u201d Skerrit said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe USA, the world’s largest economy, has its own program. The UK, Malta, Cyprus and many other countries have programs of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The programs in the US and the UK actually offer permanent residence in return for investment, although there is a pathway to citizenship years down the line.<\/p>\n

Skerrit talked up the integrity of the program, saying that plans to increase the investment threshold had been put to one side for the time being.<\/p>\n

He said the government intended to use CIP funds to take pressure of taxes and limit the national debt.<\/p>\n

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Further reading<\/b><\/p>\n