B&O Tax Does Not Mean Revenue From the Railroad

I woke up this morning thinking about the now closed coffee shop "On Common Ground." It was a terrific place to get a really cheap lunch and they had about as wide a variety of different kinds of coffee as anyone could ask for. They even made Christmas shopping simpler by creating gift baskets.

The ownership faced a lot of obstacles, including an economy in fast decline. The one problem they ought never have faced was the business and occupation tax levied by the City of Keyser.

Keyser is one of a minority of towns that impose this tax on businesses. Like most cities they experience problems in their revenue flow. They have thousands of reasons to keep this tax on the books. However, the one reason to remove it outweighs every other consideration. The B&O tax drives away business.

I have a friend who is in the process of relocating out of town. Simply put, they expect bridge construction to kill downtown business and they are tired of paying the tax. They have constructed a new facility south of city limits. A new development near Wal Mart awaits any others that wish to follow.

Some proposed that Keyser simply annex the US 220 corridor. Is that really the answer, acting as an imperial power, conquering and despoiling new territories? No. Keyser needs to think like a business. They have geographical advantages that the B&O tax nullifies. They have a moderate sized reservoir of government employees that are not gong anywhere. Also taxation discourages the kinds of low profit niche businesses that usually pop up around a college campus.

Keyser and towns like it need to step back from taxation, an easy fix that is addicting to governments as crack is to addicts. Get rid of the tax and find ways to encourage more business to come to town. If not, the jobs and residents will continue to flow southward.