By Charlie Meyer:

I knew that my esteemed sparring partner on the Right would be smelling blood in the water again when a taxation topic arose. As we both have tony West End addresses, the Business and Occupation Tax keeps the police on patrol protecting us, the streets paved and swept, in addition to so many other vital city services working to our benefit. Things that make a city. Having lived in many locales over the years, I feel that we receive great services from our hard working city employees. That costs money. The money has to come from somewhere, despite those on the Right who never met a tax they liked, thinking Adam Smith's ghost will get the Tooth Fairy to pay the Chinese mortgage for a war in two lousy places on the other side of the globe, while running a country to the fiscal anthem of the operetta: “What's In It For Me?” Maybe they still believe that “two can live as cheaply as one” nonsense most of us who have survived the bonds of matrimony stopped believing before the end of the wedding reception, but certainly long before the last wedding-present blender croaked. Remember Texas billionaire Ross Perot (who looked too much like chicken magnate Frank Perdue, who, in turn, looked too much like his product) during a 1992 presidential campaign debate talking about “that sucking sound” coming from Washington? I'm hearing a sucking sound here, but it's tax-dodging local businesses. A number of businesses have placed themselves just outside the city limits to slither around the Business and Occupation Tax levy, but staying close to their city customers. It's as if they want their cake and eat it too. Or as Marie Antoinette once said: "Let them eat cake.” (She lost her head over that.) It's not fair to Keyser, to businesses in the city, or to its citizens. As I said before, those public services in town cost money, but let's realize what we get. Parks. clean, safe streets, economical and reliable water and sewer systems. A Police Department we can easily be proud of, out there 24/7. The list goes on. While the minimalist government crowd may have nocturnal nirvana dreams of seeing their name in print in the National Rifle Association magazine's “Armed Citizen” column as the next Osama bin Laden and Bambi snuffing Rambo guarding their porch, American society has progressed since the Wild West. We have quality services those living out in “the sticks” may not have. They cost money. Did you de-clutter during the city Spring Cleaning? I did. A bit. Call a private trash hauler, and you'd be out a lot more than $10 per pickup truck load the city charged. The Libertarian purist might; the conservative “free marketeer” would want someone else to do it gratefully, in deference to His Highness' “I did it myyyy waaayyyy” success ... for about a dollar an hour. (“The Chinese would do it for less..but I believe in charity to America.” Ya-da,ya-da, ya-da.) Not enough of us sleep in on street sweeper mornings to generate enough $5 parking tickets to cover the city budget. West Virginia Code limits how municipalities can raise operating funds. The Business and Occupation Tax is the primary source of funding for services we'd sorely miss were we left to our own devices. We know who's still in town, the good-citizen businesses that are part of our community. Thanks! We also see the so called businesses who moved to new, out of-town digs to skip out on paying their fair share of the city taxes that serve us all. What do those who oppose the Business and Occupation Tax propose to run the city on? Let's level the playing field. There should be a Business and Occupation Tax levied by the counties on entities not in an incorporated municipality. That could buy some more Sheriff's Deputies we need, but can't seem to ever afford. Another alternative would be to annex those tax dodging meccas just outside the current city limits. Look at our city budget and try to find significant waste. There haven't been any allegations of free, wild Geritol parties at City Council meetings, even if the “Town Fathers” should now be more accurately called the “Town Grandfathers” to anyone without AARP junk mail. Our city workers certainly aren't getting rich on the public nickel. I see a little city doing the best job possible with diminishing revenues. I also see a number of businesses who aren't paying their fair share, yet want our patronage. “And pigs might fly” as the Irish say. Civic pride is more than a parade, or waving a flag. Shop in your city. I make a point of shopping our city stores and businesses FIRST.

By Stephen Smoot:

To the left Keyser sees a rock and to the right it sees a hard place. North of Keyser sits a large expanse of unincorporated land around the heavily traveled US 220.  South of Keyser, one finds a burgeoning center of development in New Creek around Wal Mart and large middle class residential neighborhoods.  New Creek especially has the potential to siphon out of Keyser a significant portion of its businesses simply because of the extra taxes one must pay to do business in town. Keyser has the three best attributes for any business oriented community. First is location, second is location, and third is last, but not least, location.  It sits at the crossroads of well traveled highways and in the middle of a cluster of farm and industrial communities. Cumberland lies a little too far away for the sake of convenience.  Keyser ought to be a regional center for business and commerce, but residents continue to ask why so many locked doors and empty windows? Location should give Keyser what economists call a competitive advantage, in other words a leg up on trying to attract business.  That advantage is offset by the levying of the business and occupation tax commonly called the B&O tax.  Don’t feel bad if you, as I did for a long time, thought this was a specific tax on the railroad. It actually lays a tax on every business within the city limits.  This tax, levied by only a few cities across the state, does provide Keyser with much needed revenue.  However its draconian nature kills, drives off, or prevents businesses from locating in town to begin with.  The former owner of the "On Common Ground" coffee bar agrees.  Cheri Gannon argues that Keyser should not have a business and occupation tax at all.  She looks at the tax as “penalizing us for bringing a business into town.”  Keyser officials must understand that “taxes affect whether you put your business in or out of town.”
The city levies the B&O tax based upon gross revenues of a business.  Let’s say your store made $10,000 in total revenues last year.  You pay taxes based upon that $10,000 whether your expenses were $4,000 or $14,000.  Yes, you still pay the same tax even if your business lost money.  Debating the fairness of such a tax levy ignores the reality that most businesses operate on a slim margin of profit.  The B&O tax drives struggling businesses from within the city limits.  Why willingly pay this tax when you can set up shop outside of town limits and lose almost nothing in the way of services?  The B&O tax has to go.  Eliminating it restores the location advantages that Keyser offers businesses.  As far as municipal taxation is concerned Keyser is a dinosaur.  It is one of the last cities in West Virginia clinging to this form of revenue collection. Barring eliminating it altogether, this tax must at least be adjusted somewhat.  Small businesses have a difficult time withstanding the draconian assessment of gross revenues.  Can the city of Keyser at the very least tax net profits instead of gross revenues?  This does not solve the entire problem, but it does cut a break to those struggling to start or simply maintain their business in tough economic conditions. According to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 report "Positive Solutions For Positive Growth in West Virginia," over 70% of economic growth comes from entrepreneurs.  It claims that “to diversify and grow its business base, it is vital that West Virginia develop an attractive and supportive environment for entrepreneurs and small businesses.”  Small
businesses cannot get started and make it through that vital first two years of operation when taxed on gross revenues.  Most colleges have a cluster of small niche businesses within walking distance of their campus. Even though Potomac State approaches a student population of 1,800, one sees very few of these types of businesses in Keyser.  They usually have razor thin profit margins and are more of a labor of love than a way to get rich.  However they too can grow, prosper, offer employment, and eventually as a group contribute tremendously to the local economy.   We will never know if we can cultivate this development unless we try. Yes, government functions require revenue.  Keyser needs money to pay for police protection, street maintenance, and other services. Some will defend the B&O tax because it does provide revenue.  It has also helped to drive a number of small businesses out of town or out of operation entirely.  Keyser needs to get rid of the B&O tax entirely or at least adjust it so that it does not fall so heavily on new and struggling businesses.  Stop penalizing businesses for being new or for going through difficult times.  Start encouraging economic development.  Drop or adjust the B&O tax.