The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

February 27, 2006

Working poor get no tax break

By Mannix Porterfield

CHARLESTON — Democrats in the Senate were challenged Monday to make good on a promise to whittle West Virginia’s personal taxes down for the state’s lowest wage earners.

When the dust settled, however, the Republicans couldn’t convince enough of them to discharge the finance committee and send out Sen. Billy Wayne Bailey’s proposed tax cut.

Only a week ago, Bailey, D-Wyoming, proposed that couples be given a break by exempting the first $25,000 earned from the state personal income tax returns.

Single taxpayers would see the first $12,500 of earnings go tax-free.

Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, moved to have Bailey’s bill skip the finance committee and arrive directly on the floor for a vote, but the Democrats weren’t buying, sensing it as a politically inspired maneuver in an election year.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Barnes said of the proposed tax break.

“That gives us a great opportunity to put more money back into the pockets of working people of West Virginia.”

His motion failed first on a voice vote, then again when a stand-up head count was taken, in which three Republicans voted with the majority.

“That was just a political ploy,” Bailey said afterward.

“They were just trying to upset the Democrats.”

Bailey reminded a reporter of last week’s interview when he offered the measure it was merely an effort to get talks started, with no real hope of seeing its passage in this session.

“We put this out here for conversation to see how much it was going to cost,” he said, “and where we could shift the tax burden to help the working poor. If they want to come in and embarrass the Democrats, and screw it up, that’s fine. They’re in the back pocket of (Massey Energy chief executive officer) Don Blankenship to make us look bad.”

Blankenship has threatened to target Democratic candidates who vote against tax cuts in the next election.

“I’m here for the people of West Virginia, not for the big coal interests,” he said.

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com

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