Blog

June 8, 2017 by Ted Boettner
New Tax Plan Still Raises Sales Tax to Pay for Income Tax Cuts

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…

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June 6, 2017 by WVCBP
President Trump’s Draconian Budget Hits West Virginia Hardest

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…

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May 26, 2017 by Sean O'Leary
Latest Budget Bill Makes More Cuts, Revenue Still Needed from Legislature

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…

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May 24, 2017 by Ted Boettner
Senate Tax Plan Punches More Holes Into Budget (Updated)

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…

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May 17, 2017 by Ted Boettner
A Simple Plan to Break the Budget Impasse

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…

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May 10, 2017 by Sean O'Leary
Latest Compromise Tax Plan Still a Bad Deal for West Virginia

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 (…

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April 24, 2017 by Sean O'Leary
Adding Up the Cuts in the Vetoed FY 2018 Budget.

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…

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April 24, 2017 by Sean O'Leary
When Would the Income Tax Phase Out in the Compromise Tax Plan Begin?

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…

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April 18, 2017 by Sean O'Leary
Comparing Severance Tax Proposals

Yesterday, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy posted an analysis of the "compromise tax plan," that is thought to be the foundation for budget negotiations between the Senate and the governor. Overall, the plan would reduce state revenue by $114.8 million. While most of the revenue loss comes from reductions in income tax rates,…

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