This was part of the new 'sin tax' bill proposed by the Governor and passed by the Legislature.
Along with that tax hike other raises on beers, soda,cigarettes and some property tax changes are included.
Whether the gains in taxes will outpace the revenues lost by negative consumer reaction, similar to yours, will make it worth while overall certainly remains to be seen. It raises the cost of living here and makes the USVI less competitive on quite a few different fronts. It was not a popular bill locally for many reasons but a majority of elected Legislators passed it. Anyway.