- Details
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - State general revenue collections again exceeded expectations last month, pushing the state's current surplus over $69 million just four months into the fiscal year.
The state collected $336.7 million in general revenue during October, about $25.6 million or 8 percent above budget expectations of $311.2 million for the month.
Since the fiscal year began on July 1, the state has taken in just under $1.4 billion in revenue, 5 percent more than the $1.33 billion the state had projected it would collect by this point.
That $1.4 billion represents a 6.5 percent growth rate over last year.
- Details
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A strong overseas market for West Virginia coal continues to reap dividends for the state's government finances.
Tomblin administration officials credit coal exports for much of the economic health reflected in October's general revenue tax collections.
Last month's general revenues totaled nearly $337 million. That's $25 million more than expected.
Sales and personal income taxes beat their October estimates by a combined $10 million. These are key sources of general revenue, and are also signs of economic activity.
The state's main business taxes also brought in more than expected last month. So did taxes on coal and other extracted natural resources.
Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow says coal experts were up 42 percent for the calendar year as of August.
- Details
Congratulations to Alpha Natural Resources on the opening of their new corporate headquarters in Bristol, Va.The five-story, state-of-the-art, 130,000-square-foot building sits on 31 acres overlooking Sugar Hollow Park, near Exit 7 on Interstate 81 and will house about 325 employees.
- Details
By Rich Trzupek
Lisa Jackson still doesn’t get it. The EPA Administrator is stuck in 1970 and refuses to acknowledge the environmental and economic realities of 2011, as her rambling, misleading Op-Ed that ran in the L.A. Times last week so clearly demonstrates.
Jackson claims, for example, that House Republicans are conducting an "…assault on our environmental and public health protections will mean the difference between sickness and health — in some cases, life and death — for hundreds of thousands of citizens."
She refers here to the proposed "Boiler MACT" and "Utility MACT" (MACT stands for Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rules that the EPA is trying to ram down the nation’s throat at a time we can least afford such pristine luxuries. The fact is that the nation has made enormous progress in cleaning up the air over the last forty years and EPA’s claims that it’s vital to crank down on the thumbscrews in the industrial sector once again are both self-serving and highly dubious. Consider a few facts that Jackson failed to mention:
- Details
A scathing new expose on the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change -- which sets the world's agenda when it comes to the current state of the climate -- claims that its reports have often been written by graduate students with little or no experience in their field of study and whose efforts normally might be barely enough to satisfy grad school requirements.
Grad students often co-author scientific papers to help with the laborious task of writing. Such papers are rarely the cornerstone for trillions of dollars worth of government climate funding, however -- nor do they win Nobel Peace prizes.
Join Friends of Coal
Be part of West Virginia's coal industry future. Together, we can continue building a stronger, more prosperous Mountain State by supporting our miners and communities.
West Virginia Coal Association
The West Virginia Coal Association has been the voice of the coal industry for over 100 years, advocating for safe, responsible mining practices and supporting the communities that depend on coal.
Join the FOC
Become a Friend of Coal and download our app to stay connected and support the industry.
Recent Press
