The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 have exacerbated longstanding economic inequities faced by West Virginians. Thankfully, the recent stimulus and rescue packages have shown us a way to rebuild from the pandemic by investing in families. In particular, the expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the…
Blog
Taxes were a major focus of the 2021 West Virginia legislative session, with the elimination of the state personal income tax a top priority for the governor as well as for House and Senate leadership. Fortunately for the state, all of the various proposals -- which each would have devastated the state budget while shifting…
Last week, Governor Justice approved the FY 2022 budget passed by the legislature at the end of session. While the fate of the budget was up in the air for most of the session as the legislature attempted to eliminate the income tax, by the time the session came to a close, only a few…
Last night, on a narrow 18-16 vote, the Senate passed an amended version of HB 3300, making significant changes to the version of the bill that the Senate Finance Committee had introduced just days before. The amended bill was voted on mere hours after being introduced, and was passed without a full fiscal analysis. With…
Just last month, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) celebrated its eleventh birthday. The ACA is the most extensive health care reform law in the United States since the passage of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965. The ACA has granted over 20 million Americans more affordable and accessible health insurance. Beyond that, it has touched the lives of…
This week, the Senate Finance Committee took up HB 3300, the House's income tax cut plan, and made significant changes before quickly passing it out of committee. Unlike the House plan, which phased out the income tax over time with no revenue offsets, the Senate's plan is more similar to the governor's proposal, making a…
A bill recently passed by the West Virginia House seeks to change how natural gas property is valued for property tax purposes and would impact local governments throughout the state. The bill, HB 2581, stems from a recent West Virginia Supreme Court case challenging how the State Tax Department calculates production expenses on natural gas…
West Virginia saw an unprecedented drop in the incarcerated population at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the beginning of March 2020 and April 15, 2020, the state’s total incarcerated population fell by nearly 13 percent as officials made efforts to prevent COVID-19 spread in jails and prisons. While the number of incarcerated people…
Since its inception in 1965, Medicaid has been one of the most impactful anti-poverty public health initiatives in the United States. Medicaid provides low-income Americans with free or low-cost health insurance, allowing them to receive treatment that may otherwise be inaccessible. The program has expanded significantly since its origin to include more people; today, it…
This week, the House Finance Committee originated and quickly passed their own income tax cut bill (HB 3300) as an alternative to Governor Justice's proposal. Unlike the governor's proposal, the House plan contains no offsetting revenues and would instead lead to massive budget deficits while giving most of the tax cuts to high-income West Virginians.…