The education efficiency audit initiated by Governor Tomblin has attracted a great deal of attention in the state, and will likely be a major part of the upcoming legislative session. The audit was produced with two goals for the state: 1) producing the best possible outcome for its students, and 2) receiving the highest return…
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In an awkward criticism, gossip columnist Phil Kabler at the Charleston Gazette has taken exception to our monthly Jobs Count report, which is a straight forward report on the employment and unemployment numbers in the state, with the data coming directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Phil's point of contention with last month's Jobs Count…
Although a "fiscal cliff" deal to prevent tax hikes and sweeping spending cuts was brokered at the eleventh hour, West Virginians will still see a tax increase. The rarely mentioned payroll tax holiday has officially expired, impacting the paychecks of about 900,000 working West Virginians. Enacted in 2010, the payroll tax holiday was designed to…
(Continued from Part 3 - published 12/19/12). Nearly $1.5 billion in property tax revenue was raised in West Virginia during FY 2012, and West Virginia's schools were by far the largest recipients of the revenue. County school districts collected a total of $967 million in property taxes, nearly two-thirds of the total. Overall, property taxes…
"Political leaders don't have to do the hard work of building human capital and promoting sustainable economic growth -- they can just coast along, riding the benefits of the resource boom." The above quote was taken from a new article in Foreign Policy Magazine by David Rothkopk. The article, "Cursed with Plenty," looks at a…
Hospitals in West Virginia will face higher costs if the state fails to expand Medicaid to 130,000 low-income West Virginians under the Affordable Care Act. According to a recent study by John Graves in the New England Journal of Medicine, hospitals will see a reduction in federal Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH or "dish") payments that…
(Continued from Part 2 - published 12/11/12) In FY 2012, West Virginia's 241 municipalities collected an estimated $30 million in personal property tax revenue. While municipal governments are less reliant on property taxes as a source of revenue than are county governments, property taxes still make up around 10 percent of municipal general revenues. While…
Michigan has become the 24th state to pass "right-to-work" legislation. Essentially that means collective bargaining agreements cannot require nonunion employees to pay union dues. However, nonunion employees may still often benefit from wage agreements, a grievance process, and other benefits negotiated by the union. West Virginia does not have a "right-to-work" law, but some think…
This month's New York Times article on business tax subsidies has attracted plenty of attention in West Virginia, as our state was listed as second in the nation with $857 per resident given out to attract businesses in the state. While state officials defended the state's use of tax incentives, Phil Kabler in Sunday's Gazette-Mail…
Another day, another business climate ranking with a poor result for West Virginia, this time coming from the Forbes 2012 Best States for Business list, which ranks West Virginia as the 45th best state for business. Forbes first started ranking the states in 2006, so like I did earlier this week with the Economic Freedom…