Heidi Holliday, Executive Director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth You're welcome, America. Our state, Kansas, just wrapped up a 5-year long experiment in governance from which the other 49 states can now glean some important lessons. The Kansas Legislature has voted to roll back much of the 2012 package of tax cuts…
Budget
Earlier this week, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy examined the fiscal impact of the proposed compromise tax plan between Governor Justice and Senate leadership that will influence how the budget is finalized. It appears House leadership is saying "nope" to this plan and it is unclear how the plan would close the state's…
On the last night of the 2017 Legislative Session, the Senate and the Governor appeared to have worked on a tax plan compromise bill that would make sweeping changes to the state's tax system that would exacerbate our state's budget crisis and shift the tax load onto working families to make room for tax breaks…
This West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Issue Brief, On the Brink: Closing West Virginia’s Budget Gap, released today, details the various budget proposals offered by Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Legislature to close the state’s nearly $500 million budget deficit. Read the full brief. The legislature passed a budget with major cuts…
Today, the House approved a tax plan (SB 484) that broadens the sales tax base and lowers the rate to balance the House's budget (HB 2018). Altogether, the tax plan is expected to increase tax revenue in its first two years, while lowering tax revenue by year three. This is because of revenue triggers in…
The state Senate's version of the FY 2018 budget bill has been released, giving a glimpse into how the legislature plans to close the state's budget gap. The Senate's bill spends $402.6 million less from the General Revenue Fund than Governor Justice's proposed budget, meaning that once again, the budget is being balanced largely through spending…
This West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Issue Brief, State Budget Cuts Hit Higher Education Hard, released today, details the impact of multiple years of budget cuts to the state’s public higher education institutions. Read the full brief. Falling public support for the state’s universities and colleges has led to tuition rising, making the reality of…
The House and the Senate have advanced two similar tax bills that make substantial changes to the state's personal income and sales tax, which account for over 75 percent of state general revenue fund collections. Both of these bills will shift the tax load from the wealthy onto working families. It is unclear how either…
Today, the Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform will consider a joint resolution that calls for a constitutional amendment (SJR 8) that would transform the state and local tax system in West Virginia. Called the "Fair and Simple Tax Reform" amendment, it is part of an upside down tax package that includes SB 335 that…
Last Friday, the Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform explored the idea of amending SB 335 to include a version of a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit. As noted previously, SB 335 would replace the personal and corporate income tax, along with the sales and use tax, with a general consumption tax of 8…