West Virginia Leaders Searching for Middle Ground in Tax Structure

PARKERSBURG — The U.S. Tax Foundation ranks West Virginia 18th in its State Business Tax Climate Index.

Wyoming sits at No. 1.

But 18 is not so bad for a state a few years earlier wasn’t thought of as business friendly because of the tax system, and is a ranking groups like the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce want to protect.

“We don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg,” Steve Roberts, executive director of the state chamber, said.

The aim should be a balance between West Virginia’s competitiveness with other states and having enough revenue for schools and health care, he said. “Education and health care should not pay a heavy price for the economic downturn,” Roberts said.

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