West Virginians for Affordable Health Care is hosting U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell on Tuesday, November 22, at 11 a.m. on the campus of the University of Charleston. Register here. Secretary Burwell will talk with West Virginians who have benefitted from the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare). The event will be hosted in…
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Lunch and Learn - November 9:Business Tax Cuts Haven't Delivered Jobs for West Virginia Business tax cuts have not kept their promise of bringing jobs to West Virginia. Why? Because state and local taxes don't play a major role when business leaders decide where to locate and expand their companies. Tax cuts do, however, damage…
Today, the state budget office released revenue collections for October which were $6.3 million below estimates. While personal income tax collections where $14 million above expectations, sales and use and corporate income taxes were down $13 million and $5 million, respectively. So far, the state's General Revenue Fund is down $87.4 million over the first…
Social Security continues to play vital role in reducing poverty in West Virginia. According to the latest Census data, in 2014-2015 there were approximately 318,000 West Virginians living in poverty, including 40,000 seniors. Without Social Security, 132,000 more West Virginians would live in poverty. Most people aged 65 and older receive the majority of their…
A report out this week shows that more U.S. children have health care coverage than ever. The numbers are especially good in West Virginia with less than 3 percent of the state's children lacking health insurance. WVCBP President Renate Pore says that's the lowest rate the state has ever had, thanks to the Children's…
Legislators solved last year's budget crisis primarily with one-time fixes like money from the Rainy Day Fund. While they did raise the tobacco tax, that was not enough to permanently fix the problem. With revenues continuing to come in below projections, it's likely to be a déjà vu budget situation during the 2017 Legislative Session.…
Throughout the next couple of months, WVCBP staff will talk to dozens of organizations across the state about West Virginia's fiscal condition: specifically how the state can fix its upcoming budget gap, estimated to be at least $300 million next year. Who pays taxes in West Virginia? What makes up our tax base? To help…
This week the results of a survey of voters across Appalachia show a majority support the Reclaim Act to bring federal resources to hard-hit coal communities. The majority also favor diversifying the area's economy in order to bring more jobs to the region. Here's more from West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Improvement"…
Yesterday, the Tax Foundation released its 2017 State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI) that purports to show that West Virginia now has the 18th-best state business tax climate in the country, ranking better than any of our surrounding states. Policymakers and others should exercise caution in drawing any positive conclusions from the report since the…
Too many West Virginians struggled to make ends meet in 2015, and the number of West Virginians living in poverty remained unchanged. One solution? A Working Families Tax Credit that would help people who work for low wages keep more of what they earn. How could a West Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) help…