It is good to see the Democrats are turning their attention toward the tax crisis in West Virginia. Of course, anytime the Democrats start tinkering, the result is much like the story of the man in the Bible who after he had a demon cast out of him, was possessed with seven others worse than the first.

The story of the July tax summit varies. If you listen to Manchin and his hired help, it was a stunningly bipartisan effort by many people from across the state. But if you listen to the attendees, their account is quite different.

The way the event was organized helped underscore the pre-existing problems in our tax code. Attendees were split into seemingly randomly focus groups who dealt with a particular part of the tax code. They were assigned one of the following topics and were strictly forbidden to discuss anything else:

* personal taxes
* business taxes
* property taxes
* road fund taxes
* local taxation

The setup failed because it had those who, for instance, never owned a business discuss businesses taxes and allowed lobbyists, with much to gain or lose if their niche tax gets adjusted, to participate as well.

The largest faction were the lobbyists. If estimates are accurate, they composed over half of the total number of attendees. Listening to special interest groups is the last thing the legislature needs to do.

Everyone acted in a vacuum within their group and with one individual issue without concern of how their ideas meshed with the rest of the tax code. Our taxes have far too long been piecemealed together without no order, the format made it worse.

While the ideas of the groups were doubtless helpful, many felt it was a long way from being in a useful format. Having a general discussion about a subject that may or may not be in your purview led to, as one individual said, “a sophomoric effort that failed to get down to specifics.”

Three areas of our tax code need immediate attention:

First, our tax system needs a complete overhaul. Those in the know tell me we overburden some revenue sources while others are under developed. Strict attention should be paid to collecting taxes in areas that depress the economy the least.

Second, because we border so many states, we must make our tax code competitive with our neighbors: especially with the gas, food, and corporate net income tax.

Third, we must cut taxes. The Democrats have created a state where we have the lowest average income and the 21st highest tax burden. Not only do you have to pay more for a lackluster government, businesses are discouraged from coming here. Thus creating a weak job market which fosters low paying jobs.

So when is all the talk going to turn into a bill? No one seems to know. In late 2005, Manchin said the subjects of the 2006 regular legislative session were going to be health care and tax reform. Once we got into the session, the Democrats rejected the Republican’s 20+ tax reform bills and Manchin promised a special session regarding tax reform in the summer.

Now that it summer, Manchin implies it will happen sometime after the November elections and before the 2007 regular legislative session in January. But at the close of the tax summit, the Secretary of Taxes and Revenue, John Musgrave, said the findings of the summit would be compiled in a report that would be ready, “November, December, January.”

The Democrats have proven time and again that they do not care about tax reform, but they love talking about it. If you want to know when they are going to fix our taxes, look at your calendar and start calculating. It will always be six months from tomorrow.