Tonight’s election results show that West Virginia voters clearly support conservative, business-minded candidates, but that support unfortunately did not carry over to critical policy decisions that will shape our state’s future.

We at the WVMA continue to believe that Amendment 2 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Legislature to have ALL options on the table to modernize our tax code and bring fairness to all businesses, especially those that have employed West Virginians for years. Sadly, an important section of our tax code will remain mired in the early 1900s. Our state will fall even further out of step with the rest of the nation in how we tax tangible personal property, essentially punishing businesses for investing in machinery, inventory and equipment in West Virginia.

As we move past our disappointment, we remain proud that West Virginia manufacturers helped to rescue our economy during the pandemic. We will look for ways to overcome the tax inequities here and encourage continued investment and job creation.