The coal industry is often spoken of as if it is synonymous with West Virginia's economy. While coal companies certainly remain a significant employer of West Virginians -- over 22,000 jobs in 2008 -- data show that the industry has provided fewer and fewer jobs and wages over time compared to the state economy as…
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AP has an article this morning showing that the state is running a $24 million surplus in the first month of FY 2011. Mark Muchow, Deputy Secretary of Revenue (and the guy who calculated the revenue projections for FY 2011), said it was "mostly due to...early lottery fund transfer and one-time liquor license renewal payments."…
David Stockman, former OMB director under Reagan, warned in the NYT on Saturday that extending Bush's tax cuts would amount to "filing for bankruptcy." Stockman goes on to say, "debt explosion has resulted not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party's embrace, about three decades ago, of the insidious doctrine that…
Over the next several weeks, we will be publishing several blog posts examining the facets of the coal economy in West Virginia. We recently published a report looking at the fiscal impact of coal on the state budget. It found that while coal does provide millions in revenue and thousands of jobs, it also costs…
While the Daily Mail didn't really say the earth is flat, their editorial this morning on Bush's tax cuts reflects the same logic. They argue that Bush's tax cuts fueled the economic recovery after the 2000/2001 recession, that the cuts haven't added to the deficit, and that the tax cuts really helped the non-rich. As…
The 2009 Recovery Act enhanced the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) to allow low-income working parents to count more of their wages toward the credit. According to CBP analysis of Census data, this resulted in approximately an additional 2,200 West Virginian households (those earning between $9,950 and $12,500 annually) receiving the refundable credit in 2009 (and…
According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency (DSIRE), West Virginia is way behind the curve when it comes to providing financial incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency, compared to surrounding states. Let's start with renewable energy. Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia each offer an average of…
Every year, the Tax Foundation releases its State Business Tax Climate Index. Every year, West Virginia fares poorly in this ranking, this year we come in at 37. The argument is that taxes matter to businesses, they affect business decisions, job creation and the long-term health of a state's economy. Therefore, a state with low tax costs will…
Working families in West Virginia could see less child care support next year. If Congress doesn't take action before January, the federal Child Care & Dependent Tax Credit (CCDC) will revert to its 1990s form, reducing the amount of child care assistance parents receive across the board. Currently, the CCDC reduces the total tax bill…
As many know, the fears of job loss from federal cap-and-trade legislation runs high in West Virginia. WVU predicts that it could cost West Virginia 25,00 jobs unless significant worker protections and new capital toward sustainable energy development are included in the legislation. This doesn't have to be our fate. We CAN have a cap on…