Amendment 2, or the Property Tax Modernization Amendment, will be on the ballot this November for West Virginia voters to consider. If passed, it would amend the constitution to give the state legislature the authority to exempt business machinery and equipment, business inventory, and personal vehicles from property taxation. As such, passage of the amendment…
Budget Beat
Earlier this month, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) released a report in support of Amendment 2, which would give the state legislature the authority to exempt business machinery, equipment, and inventory from property taxes. While the WVMA claims the report bolsters the case for Amendment 2, it contains several flaws and misleading assumptions that call into…
Amendment 2, or the Property Tax Modernization Amendment, will be on the ballot this November for West Virginia voters to consider. If passed, it would amend the constitution to give the state legislature the authority to exempt business machinery and equipment, business inventory, and personal vehicles from property taxation. As such, passage of the amendment…
Amendment 2, or the Property Tax Modernization Amendment, will be on the ballot this November for West Virginia voters to consider. If passed, it would amend the constitution to give the state legislature the authority to exempt business machinery and equipment, business inventory, and personal vehicles from property taxation. As such, passage of the amendment…
We observe Labor Day to celebrate the economic and societal achievements of American workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “American labor has raised the nation’s standard of living and contributed to the greatest production the world has ever known, and the labor movement has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional…
Despite West Virginia’s crime rate and total population declining in recent decades, the state jail population has increased over that period, and at the end of Fiscal Year 2022, state jails were nearly 1,000 people above capacity. One contributing factor driving this counterintuitive trend is West Virginia’s overreliance on pretrial detention –nearly half of people…
Amid multiple state agency staffing shortage crises driven by low pay, state officials are proposing to cut state revenues even further through income tax cuts and proposed property tax cuts if Amendment 2, which will be on the ballot this fall, passes. Just this month, West Virginia Education Association (WVEA) officials warned of record teacher…
Amendment Two, or the Property Tax Modernization Amendment, will be on the ballot this November for West Virginia voters to consider. If passed, it would amend the constitution to give the state legislature the authority to exempt business machinery and equipment, business inventory, and personal vehicles from property taxation. As such, passage of the amendment…
This week, the details of Governor Justice's newest personal income tax cut proposal were revealed. Like previous failed attempts to cut the income tax in recent years, Gov. Justice's latest proposal would give the bulk of the tax cut to the wealthiest West Virginians while depriving the state of resources to address real needs and make necessary one-time investments. The…
West Virginia ended Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 with revenues coming in at $1.3 billion above estimates. And while that surplus is largely a mirage built on low revenue estimates, unexpectedly high energy prices, and unprecedented amounts of federal aid and budget support, it does present an opportunity to make much-needed investments in the people of West Virginia while addressing longstanding needs. Unfortunately, both the…