Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Rath, Young and Pignatelli, PC, based in Concord, NH, has announced that Mary N Peterson, former Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Taxes, has joined the Tax Practice Group in its new Montpelier Office. Peterson’s practice will focus on state and local tax, energy and other regulated industries, administrative practice and public policy. Peterson has extensive experience in state and local matters, as well as utility regulation, commercial contracts, lender liability, bankruptcy, and securities.

Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble Dear Friends: We mourn the passing Tuesday ofRobert De Cormier, and we celebrate his indelible legacy.His vision guided and continues to guide the music we sing and how we sing it. Robert founded Counterpoint in 1999.After forming the ensemble,he led it with an extraordinary passionand artistry that sought to accessthe communal meanings of the music we sang,both for and with our audiences.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America, and part of the POWDR adventure lifestyle company, is scheduled to kick off its 2017-18 winter season at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, becoming the first Eastern resort to open for skiing and snowboarding. The first turns of the season will be reserved exclusively for Season Pass and Express Card holders and the resort will open to the general public on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 9 am.

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.