WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is pointing to a Hampshire County small business owner as one of many small business owners in the United States who could benefit from tax reforms.
Eric Hott owns EH Chocolates and More and EH Farm Fresh Produce in Kirby.
A Kirby native, Hott studied culinary arts, worked as an apprentice and ran a patisserie in Baden-Baden, Germany. He later moved on to a position in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland and, after two years, returned to the Mountain State to put his skills to use in a different environment.
Hott now makes Swiss chocolate products in West Virginia and supplies local farm produce “like Grandpa grew.”
“We need more folks like Eric, lots more that are willing to take the risk, that have a good idea, who want to stay and work in their own homes in rural America,” Capito said recently on the U.S. Senate floor.
“Certainly in our state of West Virginia which has had a major economic downturn, we need more Eric Hotts.”
Coming up this week, Capito will lead a business roundtable in Charleston about how tax reforms could benefit West Virginia workers and job creators.
“We need to simplify the tax code for small businesses and let them focus on what they do best which is refining their products, providing their services, providing jobs for people in their various areas,” Capito said.
“Tax reform, as much as any other policy that Congress can advance, will promote growth and provide job opportunities across this great country.”
The Republican tax plan, introduced in late September, included simplifying the income tax structure from seven brackets with rates ranging from 10 percent to 39.6 percent to three brackets of 12 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent.
The income levels of those rates were not announced in the plan.
As MetroNews’ Alex Thomas previously reported, the estate tax would also be eliminated and the personal exemptions for children would cut in exchange for a higher child tax credit.
The proposal would also lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.
Pushing back against claims that GOP tax reform efforts, as proposed in a framework, will benefit the wealthy more than the middle class, Capito has a series of U.S. Senate floor speeches planned on tax reform.
“Let’s create an environment that leads to more investment in our states and continues to grow and build jobs. These are the changes hard-working West Virginians and Americans are hunger for,” Capito said.