Ten states, including West Virginia, have enacted proposals that cut personal or corporate income taxes at various points in the future, contingent on revenues reaching a certain level or growth rate. While using triggers is often portrayed as fiscally responsible, it is far from it. Lawmakers enacting these drawn out tax cuts typically do not…
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Over the weekend, the U.S. Senate passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Now the bill must go back to the U.S. House before President Joe Biden signs it into law. The package includes many features that were part of the CARES Act, including direct cash payments to taxpayers and…
Governor Justice has finally unveiled his proposal to make sweeping changes to the state's tax system, including a substantial cut to the state's personal income tax, while raising a variety of sales and other taxes. The tax reform would create a dramatic change in who pays state taxes in West Virginia, shifting the responsibility onto…
It’s now been almost four months since Governor Justice announced that his top priority for the 2021 West Virginia legislative session would be eliminating the personal income tax. But despite the time elapsed, we’ve yet to see a plan put to paper. That’s likely because it’s really difficult to eliminate the state’s largest source of…
The West Virginia Legislature is one-fourth of the way through the 2021 session, and thus far the focus has largely been on areas other than criminal justice. Legislation concerning criminal law that has been passed out of committees includes a juvenile restorative justice program and several bills that enhance sentences for certain crimes. Last Friday,…
With the elimination of the business personal property tax once again a top legislative priority, the first piece of the plan has been introduced in the legislature, with Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 7. SJR 7 is identical to SJR 9, which failed to pass the legislature last year. SJR 7 starts the process for eliminating…
In 2017, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) launched a three-year pilot program that screened drug use among recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Otherwise known as WV WORKS, TANF provides cash assistance for low-income families and helps with child care, skills training, and job searching. As the pilot…
This week the West Virginia House passed HB 2013, the Hope Scholarship Program. After concerns about the growing costs of the proposal, the bill was sent back to House Finance for further consideration. This is a necessary move, as the program is much broader and potentially much more costly than any similar Education Savings Account…
The West Virginia legislative session began on Wednesday, February 10 and legislators have wasted no time rolling out their priority bills. Several bills with major fiscal impacts are being moved quickly, raising worries of whether lawmakers have had adequate time to thoroughly consider individual bills — much less to consider how the interaction of numerous…
Eliminating the Income Tax and Raising the Sales Tax Would Worsen Racial Inequality in West Virginia
Historic and present-day injustices, both in public policy and in society more broadly, have resulted in vast disparities in income across race and ethnicity in West Virginia. And West Virginia's upside down tax system does little to address those disparities. The average income of white families is 53.7 percent higher than that of Black families…