Next week the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform will meet again to continue the discussion on overhauling the state's tax system. When they last met, the Committee sent strong signals that more business tax cuts would be the top priority, despite their recent failure to create jobs in West Virginia and the subsequent budget…
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Tax Reform Continues to Make HeadlinesOn May 4, the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform will hold its second meeting to look at how to "update" the state's tax system. So far committee members have floated around some hefty suggestions, like eliminating the Personal Income Tax and further reducing business taxes. Suggestions for how to…
Legislature Gives Glimpse Into its Ideas for Tax ReformTax Reform Committee Holds First MeetingIt's been a taxing week, so to speak, between April 15 and the first meeting of the Joint Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform on Monday.The meeting was the public's first chance to get a glimpse into the new Republican leadership's ideas…
Yesterday, the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform met for the first time to start laying out the plan for comprehensive tax reform in West Virginia. Citing ALEC's dubious Rich States/Poor States report, Senate President Bill Cole and House Speaker Tim Armstead said that West Virginia's tax structure is broken and burdensome, and is holding…
With tax reform looming on the state's public policy agenda, now would be a opportune time to revisit the state's Excess Acreage Tax. Since 1905, a corporation purchasing 10,000 acres or more of property in the state is subject to a one-time five cents per acre tax on owning the property. In 1999, Governor Underwood's…
It has been over seven years since the beginning of the Great Recession. While the country is finally beginning to recover from the biggest recession since the Great Depression, West Virginia's rocky recovery has yet to fully materialize. In fact, over the last couple of years the state's job growth has been non-existent. At the…
Yesterday Governor Tomblin announced his vetoes to the FY 2016 budget, which the legislature completed last week. As we went over here, the legislature increased the amount borrowed from the Rainy Day Fund to $22.9 million, in turn increasing appropriations above the governor's recommendations in some areas, including higher education. With his veto, the governor…
Legislators approved the final FY 2016 budget earlier this week, officially bringing an end to this year's legislative session. The legislature made a number of minor changes to the budget, but stuck largely to the governor's proposal.Most of the changes were a result of increased borrowing from the Rainy Day Fund. The governor's original budget…
As Ted and I noted in our FY 2016 budget report, the governor's proposed budget would not be balanced if passed as is. In addition to requiring a transfer from the Rainy Day Fund, a number of statutory changes are also needed. The governor proposed redirecting revenue that would have typically been directed out of the…
As the 60-day legislative session draws to a close, the legislature turns its attention to the budget.This week, Governor Tomblin sent a letter to the legislature, requesting a number of adjustments to his original budget proposal. Like the adjustments he requested during the crafting of his 2014 budget, these are driven by changes to the…