By Joe Severino, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As Congress worked its way through major pieces of legislation on Wednesday, progressive groups in West Virginia called for closing tax loopholes and increasing tax rates on the richest Americans and ballooning corporations as a means to offset these potential investment costs.
Again performing atop the political high-wire in Washington D.C., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was pressed by the groups to use his “dead center” leverage to pass President Joe Biden’s reconciliation package.
Gary Zuckett, executive director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, said Manchin should rest assured that West Virginia voters will have his back if he votes for the $3.5 trillion bill, as long as he also closes the significant loopholes within the American tax system that would help pay for it.
A poll of 600 registered West Virginia voters found 48% support Biden’s reconciliation plan. After polled voters were given the option of raising taxes on the richest Americans and corporations, while closing the loopholes that have caused significant wealth disparities, support for the plan rose as high as 70%…
