WVCBP in the News

October 21, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Public Chips in with Tax Reform Advice

More than 20 people representing non-profit organizations and business associations let state lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Tax Reform know their ideas for how the state's tax code should be amended. ReadBut after listening to all the speakers, the committee's co-chairs are still in a quandary about which taxes should be overhauled. State revenues,…

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October 21, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Committee Opens WV Tax Reform Ideas to Public Comment

Charleston Gazette-Mail - After six months of input from economists, academics and government officials, the Select Committee on Tax Reform on Tuesday opened the floor to 33 individuals and representatives of various groups and organizations to hear their thoughts on revamping West Virginia's tax system. Read"I'm intrigued to see where the passion is," committee co-chairman…

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October 20, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
Could Drug Testing Save W.Va. Dollars?

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - The debate over drug testing public assistance recipients was revisited in an interim session Monday. One of the issues on the table is how to make a pilot program work without costing the state additional dollars that are hard to come by. Read/ListenThe Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human…

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October 14, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Report Shows Minimum Wage Cannot Cover Basic Needs in WV

Charleston Gazette-Mail - A new report shows that minimum wage workers in West Virginia and across the country cannot make enough money to actually support their basic needs. Read The annual report from the Alliance for a Just Society, titled ‘Pay Up! Long Hours and Low Pay Leave Workers at a Loss,' details the difference…

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October 11, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Full Impact of State Budget Woes Remains to be Seen

Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - Last week, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced across-the-board 4 percent budget cuts to state agencies and a 1 percent cut to state education funding, but the full extent and impact of West Virginia's budget woes remains to be seen. ReadOn Tuesday, Tomblin announced the mid-year cuts and said they would help to…

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October 7, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Study Says One In Four West Virginia Students Lives In Poverty

WCHS-TV - A new study shows more students are living in poverty now compared to students almost a decade ago. Read/WatchThe nonprofit EdBuild analyzed U.S. Census estimates to determine an increase of student poverty from 2006 to 2013.Over those years, the percentage jumped from 31 percent of students living in poverty to 49 percent in…

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October 6, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
How Would We Replace the Personal Property Tax?

WDTV.com - The West Virginia Tax Reform Committee recently heard a recommendation to eliminate personal property tax, mainly to attract more businesses to our state. But would this actually work? And where would the money without that tax come from? 5 News talked to economists, senators, and locals to hear all sides and see how…

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October 5, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
West Virginia Must Raise Severance Taxes on Gas

Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has released a study suggesting that raising the state's severance tax on natural gas liquids could increase revenue and help West Virginia profit from the use of the "wet gas" in-state. ReadAccording to the study, a plan to increase the gas severance tax from…

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October 1, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
Gazette Editorial: The Gas Boom Offset

Charleston Gazette - While West Virginia's southern coalfields suffer economic agony, the Marcellus and Utica shale gas boom has spurred prosperity in northern counties, offsetting some of the misery. ReadMany new hotels and motels are being built around the Northern Panhandle to house out-of-state drillers, the Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register says. As a result, the…

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September 30, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Gestamp’s South Charleston Plant a Smash Hit

Charleston Gazette-Mail - By all accounts, Gestamp's South Charleston plant is a smash hit. ReadThe auto parts manufacturer rolled into town in 2012, lured by a refurbished building and a mountain of loans, tax breaks and incentives.Ignacio Pipio, plant director, said the factory has the equivalent of 400 full-time employees, has invested a total of…

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