An editorial from The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — It is shaping up to be a busy winter for West Virginia legislators, but there is perhaps one thing they can mark off their to-do list.
That item would be changing the state’s tax structure to entice new businesses to the Mountain State.
In testimony before the Joint Committee on Tax Reform Monday, Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette told lawmakers that it isn’t the state’s tax structure that is keeping businesses away.
In fact, previous efforts to cut business taxes have shown no clear-cut evidence of creating jobs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy at West Virginia University.
Burdette says the No. 1 issue in drawing new businesses to the state is the lack of flat land. Numbers 2 and 3 are legal and regulatory issues, respectively, Burdette reported.
Well, there is little we can do about the former, but lawmakers better get busy with finding fixes for the latter.
Also dragging the state down in drawing businesses is the lack of an educated workforce…