Recent comments by Mitt Romney about the "47 percent" have prompted discussion about who actually pays taxes and why. Mr. Romney's sentiment was also recently echoed by West Virginia's Representative Shelley Moore Capito at last month's fiscal summit featuring Alan Simpson and Erksine Bowles, when Representative Capito asked about the 47 percent of Americans who…
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The projected decline of Central Appalchian coal production is one of the biggest challenges facing the state in the near future. While there are many reasons for the decline, some are irreversible, as much of the easy to reach coal has been mined out. This has prompted a great deal of concern in the state, chiefly regarding the…
On Monday, the Governor announced that some state agencies will have to reduce their budgets by 7.5 percent next year to make way for a projected budget gap in the FY 2013-14 budget that begins on July 1, 2013. Left untouched by the budget cuts are the school-aid formula, corrections programs, the legislative and judicial branches, Medicaid,…
Con't from previous post: Another way to put these corporate tax cuts in perspective is by comparing the growth in corporate taxes with the growth in sales and personal income taxes over the last two decades. While personal and sales and use taxes have more than doubled from FY1990 to FY2012, the corporate net income and business franchise tax has…
On Monday, the Governor announced that some state agencies will have to reduce their budgets by 7.5 percent next year to make way for a projected budget gap in the FY 2013-14 budget that begins on July 1, 2013. Left untouched by the budget cuts are the school-aid formula, corrections programs, the legislative and judicial…
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed legislation extending the Bush tax cuts for households with incomes below $250,000 ($200,000 for individuals). While the legislation won't take effect without action from the U.S. House of Representatives, some folks are expressing concern that by allowing the top tax rate cut to expire many small business would be…
If you have read our blog before, by now you should be familiar with the variety of "tax climate" or "business friendly" indexes put out by groups like the Tax Foundation. And you should also know that these indexes have repeatedly failed to show any connectionbetween their scores and state economic performance. Peter Fisher at…
On Thursday Gov. Tomblin stated that he needed more time and information before deciding whether or not the state would move along with the expansion of the state's Medicaid program as part of the Affordable Care Act. While the health reform law calls for states to increase Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty…
Starting next year, the state Department of Health and Human Resources plans to cut child care subsidies, affecting 800 families and 1,400 children. According to state officials, the cuts are necessary due to a depletion of surplus federal funds and are expected to save the state $8 million. Could the state find $8 million in the budget…
As Sean and I have both touched on, one of the central factors causing the decline in Central Appalachia coal production is the exhaustion of thicker, more easy to mine, coal seams. One way to gauge this trend is by looking at coal productivity. Coal productivity can be measured in two ways. The Energy Information…