26 U.S.C. § 934 — Limitation on reduction in income tax liability incurred to the Virgin Islands

(a) General rule. Tax owed to the Virgin Islands under federal tax law cannot be reduced or excused by any Virgin Islands law. This includes reductions made through a grant, subsidy, or similar payment. The only exceptions are listed in subsection (b). (b) Reductions permitted with respect to certain income. The Virgin Islands may reduce tax on income from Virgin Islands sources. It may also reduce tax on income from a trade or business run there. But this permission does not apply to tax owed under section 932(b). A U.S. citizen or resident's tax under that section cannot be reduced. There is also a special rule for a "qualified foreign corporation." This means U.S. persons own less than 10 percent of both its voting power and its stock value. For such a corporation, the Virgin Islands may reduce tax on certain non-U.S. income. That income must come from outside the United States and not be connected to a U.S. trade or business. Whether income comes from U.S. sources is decided under Treasury regulations. The same is true for whether income connects to a U.S. trade or business.

The record indicates that this section was added by Public Law 86–779, § 4(a)(1), enacted September 14, 1960 (74 Stat. 998). The source credit shows that the provision has since been amended seven times: by Public Law 94–455 (1976), Public Law 97–248 (1982), Public Law 97–455 (1983), Public Law 98–369 (1984), Public Law 99–514 (1986, with two separate amending provisions), and Public Law 108–357 (2004). This pattern reflects a recurring legislative concern with the section over more than four decades, though the source credit does not itself explain the substance or purpose of each individual change. Historical context for the enactment is less clearly established from the materials provided. Public Law 86–779 is generally known as legislation addressing tax administration matters involving U.S. territories, and the broader statutory scheme in this part of the Internal Revenue Code concerns the relationship between federal tax law and the separate tax systems of the Virgin Islands, established originally under the 1921 Naval Appropriations Act and later the 1954 Revised Organic Act referenced in the text itself. The commonly understood purpose of provisions in this area is to prevent erosion of Virgin Islands tax revenue through local tax reductions, while preserving certain exceptions. However, the specific legislative intent behind the original 1960 enactment of § 934, and the reasons for each subsequent amendment, are not established by the record provided here, and no more specific account should be inferred.