The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia should start an "Economic Diversification Trust Fund," using extra severance taxes from gas, oil and coal. That's a suggestion by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. It recommends a trust fund modeled after those created in mostly Western states in the 1970s. Read
WVCBP in the News
The State Journal -- The fiscal note attached to the ethane cracker tax incentive in the West Virginia Legislature reads $0, but a more accurate number, a progressive policy analyst group says, would be closer to $300 million. Read
The Charleston Gazette - Sustained Outrage -- The good folks at the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy have a fascinating report out this morning that examines the potential costs – in revenues lost to local governments and school systems — because of the Legislature's big rush to pass Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's tax…
The Charleston Gazette -- Tomblin rejected the proposal floated earlier this week in a report from the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy. The Center said an additional one percent severance tax on coal and natural gas could raise $5.8 billion in revenue over the next quarter-century. Read
The Charleston Gazette -- "How can we make sure that Marcellus Shale benefits working people and future generations?" Ted Boettner, Executive Director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy asked. Read
AP, Fox News -- Boettner said his group isn't against a cracker plant coming to the region, but it wants to make clear that someone has to pay for local infrastructure costs. Read
Charleston Daily Mail -- The Legislature should create a permanent severance tax trust fund, the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy said. Read
The Charleston Gazette --West Virginia should begin setting aside a portion of coal and natural gas severance taxes to create a trust fund that could help pay for long-term programs for economic development, education and infrastructure improvement, a progressive policy research group said in a report released Tuesday. Read
The Charleston Gazette -- We've written before about the proposal from the good folks at the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy for a long-term trust fund to prepare our state for the day the coal and natural gas run out … well, today, the center has a new report out that discusses this…
The State Journal, WOWK-TV -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy just released a report concluding its model of an "Economic Diversification Trust Fund" could create $2 billion in cumulative funding with $3.7 billion of remaining principal by 2035. Read