Heidi Holliday, Executive Director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth You're welcome, America. Our state, Kansas, just wrapped up a 5-year long experiment in governance from which the other 49 states can now glean some important lessons. The Kansas Legislature has voted to roll back much of the 2012 package of tax cuts…
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The conference committee in the West Virginia legislature met today to discuss the latest iteration of the tax plan that aims to balance the state's budget for next year and beyond. The new tax plan draft includes many items in previous versions of tax bills, but the "triggers" for the phase-out of the personal income…
For President Trump's proposed Federal "Blueprint" Budget for 2018, the bottom line is clear: West Virginia stands to lose more than any other state. The proposed budget, which was sent to Congress virtually unchanged from its original form in March, cuts discretionary funding for major federal agencies by $54 billion and it is estimated to…
During this week's special session, the Governor introduced HB 115, the latest version of the budget bill. Way back in February, the governor introduced his original budget plan, which called for $450 million in new revenue. During the regular session, the legislature failed to agree on any revenue measures, and at the end of the…
Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee passed an amended tax bill (HB 107) aimed at addressing the state's budget shortfall, which was pegged at $497 million (or about 12 percent of the base budget) at the beginning of the year. Unlike the version of the bill passed by House, the Senate version creates net revenue losses…
The tax and budget tug of war at the capitol between the Senate GOP and Governor on one side and the House on the other is crying out for a simple solution that demands an approach that protects our families, seniors, and children. Yesterday, the WVCBP and our coalition partners came with a tax plan…
Last week, the governor called the legislature back into special session to continue work on the state budget. The actual budget bill, however, was not part of the call, instead the intention was for the legislature to vote on a compromise tax plan that would influence how the budget was finalized. The version of the plan (…
The budget bill passed by the legislature on the last night of the session and later vetoed by the governor balanced the state's $497 million budget gap by taking $90 million from the Rainy Day Fund and cutting General Revenue appropriations by $402.6 million below the governor's proposal. The governor's FY 2018 proposal had originally…
One of the major aspects of the "compromise tax plan" between the governor and Senate leadership is the deep cuts to the personal income tax. The proposed tax compromise plan condenses the state's five income tax brackets into three brackets and reduces the rates, a move that would reduce income tax revenue by $356-$380 million per year, with…
Earlier this week, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy examined the fiscal impact of the proposed compromise tax plan between Governor Justice and Senate leadership that will influence how the budget is finalized. It appears House leadership is saying "nope" to this plan and it is unclear how the plan would close the state's…