Nevis’ financial position within the Federation has entered a new era following confirmation of a revenue-sharing agreement guaranteeing the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) 25 percent of non-tax Federal revenue, including Citizenship by Investment (CBI) processing fees. Premier Hon. Mark Brantley disclosed the arrangement during his 2nd December 2025 Budget Address, marking the first time such revenues are governed by a transparent, constitutional formula rather than political discretion.
“Through negotiations with the Federal Government, an agreed share of 25% of CBI flows will now come to the NIA… on a pro rata population basis,” the Premier announced on 2nd December, 2025. He emphasised that this formalises a financial relationship that had remained unsettled since Independence, noting: “This agreed formula is a major advance. It ends years of guesswork and replaces it with a predictable, transparent system.”
Months ago, during one of his regular Roundtable press briefings, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew indicated that a revenue sharing agreement had been arrived at between his administration and the NIA after negotiations that involved participation by the World Bank.
The introduction of this revenue-sharing agreement comes as opposition-aligned blogs, including Times Caribbean, claim Nevis is “receiving less” under Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew. However, these criticisms contradict not only the Premier’s presentation but also the historic CBI revenue figures repeatedly stated by former Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris himself.
Times Caribbean falsely argued that Nevis is “projected to receive just $35 million” in the upcoming year—a drop from the more than $66 million the island “received under Unity.” But the Premier’s address made it clear that EC $35 million is a conservative projection linked to global CBI slowdowns, not a cap under the new formula. “We have budgeted a modest figure,” Brantley explained, “but as CBI flows increase, so too will Nevis’ portion.”
Opposition claims also omit that, under the Unity administration, payments to Nevis were not governed by any fix and equitable formula. Instead, they were discretionary transfers determined by former Prime Minister Harris. The Premier described this openly in his address: “Our annual budgets have been hampered by the uncertainty surrounding what portion of non-tax revenue Nevis would receive.”
Further contradictions arise when comparing opposition statements to CBI data offered by Dr. Harris during his tenure. Harris repeatedly boasted of CBI inflows nearing EC $600 million in 2021, with the lowest projected intake of around EC $250 million in 2022. Under the new 25 percent formula, Nevis would have received between EC $62.5 million and EC $150 million over the seven years Team Unity led the country—far higher than the roughly EC $45 million Harris admitted sending to the NIA.
This inconsistency is magnified by the depletion of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), which held over EC $450 million when the Unity administration took office in 2015 and approximately EC $10 million when it left in 2022. Nevis received none of that revenue. Under today’s formula, Nevis’ proportionate share would have exceeded EC $112 million.
The Premier’s statement—and the numbers on record—directly contradict the narrative advanced by opposition groups. The new agreement is designed to eliminate exactly the type of discretionary practices that created longstanding friction between the Federal Government and the NIA.
“Nevis now receives its rightful share in good times and bad,” Brantley stated. “It strengthens our fiscal stability and supports the long-term development of our island.” He also highlighted that the formula mirrors the constitutional allocation framework for tax revenue, which assigns 25 percent to Nevis based on population.
The confirmation of this agreement signals a structural shift to fairness, predictability and accountability, replacing decades of political uncertainty with a rules-based system.
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