Charleston Gazette-Mail - Offering a counterpoint to the ongoing meetings of the legislative Joint Committee on Tax Reform, a coalition of education, faith, labor and community-based organizations called on legislators Tuesday to pursue tax changes that they said would benefit all West Virginians. ReadDeclaring "you can't cut your way to prosperity," Rick Wilson of the…
WVCBP in the News
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - On West Virginia Morning, the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform considers increasing the tobacco tax to raise money for the state's health care needs. And Ashton Marra reports that advocates are urging lawmakers to consider the needs of working families as they work on the tax code. Listen
Beckley Register-Herald - The state Legislature should "proceed with extreme caution" when considering any changes to the state's tax structure, according to Ted Boettner. ReadBoettner, the executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, held a press conference Tuesday just after the Joint Committee on Tax Reform closed its bi-monthly session. Noting…
Sunday Gazette-Mail - Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss was being brutally frank recently. He conceded that business tax cuts enacted in 2008 have helped create a "structural imbalance" that is contributing to near-monthly revenue shortfalls that over the past two years have forced severe spending and program cuts just to balance the state budget. ReadWith most…
Bloomberg Business - In Kentucky's Letcher County, emergency response time for sheriff's deputies averages an hour, up from 30 minutes a year ago. Martin County, also in eastern Kentucky, couldn't afford to open its public swimming pool this summer. West Virginia's Boone County, once the richest in the state, is considering ending free garbage pickup. The…
Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - The labor movement in West Virginia has taken a hit of late — from the downturn in the coal industry to a new state law scaling back prevailing wage on public projects. ReadStill, labor leaders say they haven't given up the fight to see that workers have good-paying jobs and safe work…
Natural Gas Intelligence - A recently released report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a liberal think tank, recommends increasing the state's severance tax on natural gas liquids (NGL) if they are not being used to develop more in-state industries such as chemical manufacturing. Read The center warned that the state is…
Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - Last week was marked by volatility and uncertainty on Wall Street, but experts said short-term trends in the stock market are unlikely to have much impact on what's happening in West Virginia's economy. ReadThat said, as the global financial markets rise and fall by the hour, there are a number of longer-term…
Wall Street Journal, Nasdaq, The Australian - Workers in a rural warehouse here are restoring four machines: a locomotive for coal miner Consol Energy Inc., and three 1947 San Francisco streetcars. ReadBy this time next year, the coal-mining equipment could be gone, and the workers at Brookville Equipment Corp. left repairing just streetcars.So it goes…
The State Journal - The vibe at The Greenbrier Resort is usually a relaxed one. The historic resort is usually full of visitors from out of town looking to unwind. ReadHowever, for a few days each year, business men and women flood the colorful, floral-themed rooms in suits and ties ready to talk about policy…