Published: February 08, 2006 11:58 pm      

GOP senators demand tax reform now

CHARLESTON — Spread on a glass-topped table in a Senate conference room Wednesday were 15 green and white bills, reflecting tax reforms wanted by Republican lawmakers in both houses.

Pick one, any one, and get the ball rolling, some GOP senators challenged Democrats, and don’t wait until a special session when both the scope and agenda are limited.

Otherwise, the Republicans said, the leadership and governor dictate terms to the entire state and shut off debate in a narrowly defined special session.

As this regular session enters the midway point today, Senate Minority Leader Vic Sprouse, R-Kanawha, lamented, “We have done nothing at all on tax reform. We have let it sit by the wayside.”

Sprouse and fellow senators called on Gov. Joe Manchin and the Democratic leadership to at least get rolling on one tax reform bill.

Personally, Sprouse said he favors elimination of the food tax, and said the state can afford it, given a projected $1 billion in various surpluses.

Sen. Jesse Guills, R-Greenbrier, agreed, reminding reporters that a Tax Department official bragged this week the streamlining policy in sales taxes will yield $180 million next year in new money.

“That clearly offsets anything in the food sales tax,” Guills said, answering a stock Democratic demand that Republicans show them how elimination is feasible.

Moreover, Guills said, abandoning the food tax won’t require any cuts in services because it would be revenue neutral.

“I have not seen any information presented to me that indicates we would have a loss on that tax revenue,” he said.

“Common sense says if you save up money on food purchases, the typical consumer is going to spend that money somewhere else.”

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Sen. Russ Weeks, R-Raleigh, touted the thickest bill on the table — SB520, aimed at reforming the entire tax structure as a special commission proposed under former Gov. Cecil Underwood.

“Let’s do it now,” he said.

“We’re going to make West Virginia business friendly. We’re going to bring jobs back to West Virginia and stop this hemorrhaging of 44 people a day leaving the state.”

Weeks said reform would take 112,000 residents below the federal poverty level off tax rolls and end the practice of annual taxing of cars and trucks.

“If you have more employers, you will have more employees,” he said.

“By increasing the tax bases, we can grow ourselves out of a lot of problems. A lot hinges on tax reform. We’ve talked about it. Now let’s do it.”

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Sprouse suggested Manchin wants to delay any reforms until a special session in summer, sparing fellow Democrats from having to make “some tough votes” before facing the electorate in an election year.

Sen. John Yoder, R-Jefferson, said lawmakers get no idea of what Manchin wants until a few days before a special session, then if opponents want time to read bills, the governor accuses them of squandering $40,000 a day in taxpayers’ money.

“I’ve never seen a time before when there’s so little activity from the governor’s office in terms of legislating tax reforms,” he said.

“It appears that the regular sessions are just becoming a meaningless thing.”

Sen. Steve Harrison, R-Kanawha, agreed, saying four full weeks remain and that’s sufficient time to deal with tax measures now.

“These taxes hurt us from a competitive standpoint,” he said.

“They hurt our taxpayers. They hurt our businesses.”