A watchdog group says rum producers in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico will profit from a tax rebate, despite assurances the money was going to the Caribbean territories' governments, the Associated Press reported.
Taxpayers for Common Sense says the island governments will provide up to 35 percent of the rebate money back to the distillers to help them market the rum in the United States.
The rum tax rebate stirred controversy when it was tucked into $700 billion package that Congress passed earlier this month to rescue the U.S. economy.
Donna M. Christensen is the U.S. Virgin Islands' delegate to Congress. She defended the payments to rum producers Cruzan and Diageo Monday, saying the money "comes back to
use as we see fit to use it."