The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is the most significant tax reform legislation in a generation. Unfortunately, like all tax legislation, compliance with these new provisions will still require taxpayers to seek guidance from their advisors since the goal of achieving simplicity in our tax code does not appear to have been attained.
Over the past few years, West Virginia’s leaders have been working to create an inviting business environment to attract
new companies and create much-needed jobs in the state. Now, thanks to several pro-growth measures, a variety of big-name businesses have announced new facilities and expansions in the Mountain State.
Infrastructure and job creation: these are two topics at the top of nearly everyone’s list of priorities when it comes to addressing West Virginia’s current economic struggles. The state needs jobs, which require business start-ups and expansions and out-of-state companies relocating to West Virginia. In order to draw businesses—and people—here, the state’s struggling infrastructure must be addressed.
With the Appalachia Storage and Trading Hub, the quad-state region of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky could attract $36 billion in new industry investments and create 100,000 new jobs by 2025. With bipartisan support, the hub might be the game changer the region has been looking for.
When it comes to nonprofit work, patience is hard for Dewayne Dickens, the executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Southern West Virginia. Dickens, a native of Whitesville, WV, and a graduate of Marshall University and West Virginia State University, has built a career around his passion for bettering the lives of the families in his community.
Riding along the winding roads, the scenery was majestic. There were rolling mountains and deep valleys, and the rows of green trees seemed to go on forever. It would have been easy to mistake my surroundings for the beauty of Appalachia. This was not familiar territory, though. I was traveling along the mountainous terrain of the beautiful country of Nicaragua.