Antigua Settles $6.5M Sandals Tax Dispute as Resort Plans Overwater Bungalow Expansion

Sandals Resorts International has agreed to pay the Antigua and Barbuda government US$6.5 million to settle outstanding tax-related issues, clearing the way for the company to advance plans that include new overwater bungalows at Sandals Grande Antigua. Prime Minister Gaston Browne has defended the expansion as necessary to keep growing the tourism base, while separately questioning whether the structure of the country’s sales tax (ABST) is leaking revenue.

The IMF projects 2026 growth near 2.8%, anchored by tourism and by Antigua’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this year.

For diaspora readers and investors, the settlement signals a government willing to resolve disputes to unlock construction, even as it scrutinizes its own tax architecture for stronger collection.

Source: Antigua News Room; antigua.news; IMF Article IV statement.