Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, on Tuesday called on Congress to conduct an investigation into the offshore tax dodging uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in the “Paradise Papers." In a letter to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders urged the Budget Committee to investigate how much offshore tax evasion has contributed to the $20 trillion national debt.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Tuesday led a group of Senate Democrats in calling on the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee to reject changes to the tax system that would harm existing tax incentives for Americans to save for retirement. The letter comes as Senate Republicans are poised to release their own version of tax reform legislation later this week.

Vermont Business Magazine On November 8th Vermont Emergency Management, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other partners will begin verifying damage caused by rain and wind storms.Vermont officials have identified more than $4.5-million in public infrastructure damage resulting from the storm.The Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) will determine if the state qualifies for a federal Public Assistance disaster declaration. To qualify for a declaration FEMA must verify at least $1-million in public infrastructure damage and response costs, and individual counties must show $3.68 per capita to qualify. Those numbers include restoration costs for public utilities.

by Seth Blanchard Major medical expenses can carry a heavy financial toll. And the fact is, all of us are susceptible to an unforeseen medical event. If you experience an accident or injury, cost may be the least of your concerns initially. Yet, unexpected medical care has the potential to impact your financial situation in a big way. Before it does, take the time to prepare your strategy for dealing with surprise medical expenses. Here are several strategies to help you get started.

Plan ahead with health insurance

Vermont Business MagazineGifford Health Care has received an $118,500 Efficiency Vermont incentive for incorporating energy-efficient choices while constructing the Strode Independent Living at Morgan Orchards Senior Living Community in Randolph Center. The rebate represents the initial value of money saved through the selection of the energy-saving equipment, appliances, and lighting that were installed in the 49-apartment building.

Vermont Business Magazine Anne Watson, the city’s longest currently-serving councilor, announced Monday night that she is running for mayor of Montpelier in the 2018 March election. This announcement comes shortly after MayorJohn Hollarannounced last week that he will not seek re-election.Watsonis an award-winning physics teacher at Montpelier High School, where she has taught for the past 13 years. As president of the council for the past three years, she has assumed the duties of the mayor in his absence. Watson was joined by former Mayor Mary Hooper and Housing Task Force member Jack McCullough at the announcement at City Hall.

Hooper is one of the few women to ever be elected a mayor in Vermont. She saidat the event, “Anne doesn’t just have ideas about the direction we should take as a community, she also listens to others. She engages them, and she knows that by developing a consensus we will go farther, faster.”

Vermont Business Magazine by John McClaughry Republicans in Congress have decided that with their embarrassing failure to “reform and replace” Obamacare, they absolutely must produce one popular legislative achievement to present to voters a year from now. Tax reform is an imperative. There’s not much else coming down the legislative pipeline.

The one tax law change that almost everyone agrees on is reducing the corporate tax rate for repatriating $2.6 trillion in overseas profits that American multinational corporations have stashed away in foreign accounts, to avoid having to pay the present 35% tax for bringing it home (and investing it here.) At one time or another, even Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have proposed some reduction of the repatriation tax barrier as well as the corporate tax rate on domestic profits.

Vermont Business Magazine New England states received a total of $631,000 from the US Environmental Protection Agency this year to fund activities designed to protect students, teachers and other people in school buildings from the health threats of asbestos. Five New England state agencies received between $100,000 and $166,000, depending on the amount of work they committed to do, including fully carrying out the federal compliance monitoring program. Funds are used to ensure schools take the steps to manage asbestos in accordance with the federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

Vermont Business Magazine Gray Television, Inc(NYSE: GTN and GTN.A)today announced record-setting results of operations for the third quarter and year-to-date periods endedSeptember 30, 2017, including record revenue and net income. The Atlanta-based parent company of many local CBS televisionaffiliates acquired WCAX-TV from the Martin family for $29 million in June 2017. Gray also announced it had renewed all its CBS contracts through 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan announced today that a Vermont judge has given final approval to the State of Vermont’s $4.2 million settlement with Volkswagen Auto Group. The settlement,originally announced in late Spring, needed to be approved by a Vermont court after the case was sent back to Vermont from a multi-district litigation in California. The settlement’s approval resolves the environmental portions of a case filed by Vermont relating to Volkswagen’s sale and lease of diesel automobiles that were fitted with illegal “defeat devices” used to conceal the release of harmful pollutants in excess of Vermont’s vehicle emission standards.

Vermont Business MagazineInnophos Holdings, Inc(NASDAQ: IPHS) announced today that it has acquired NutraGenesis, a Brattleboro, Vermont-based marketer of proprietary, branded and science-backed nutraceutical ingredients.Innophos is based in Crannberry, NJ. It's been in an acquisition mode and acquiredNovel Ingredients for a total purchase price of$125 million in August.Novel is aNew Jersey-based provider of dietary supplement ingredient solutions. According to itsWeb site, NutraGenesisoffers a diverse portfolio of patented, branded nutraceutical ingredients for dietary supplements. NutraGenesis will remain in Brattleboro.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday lead Senate Democrats in calling on the Trump administration to put forward a comprehensive package to provide relief from the onslaught of natural disasters in recent months. The administration has committed to releasing such a package in the coming weeks.

In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Senate Democrats outlined what must be included in a comprehensive package that would allow adequate investment in technology, conservation and infrastructure that will mitigate further damage in future disasters and make our communities more resilient.

The text of the letter is available HERE