Last night, on a narrow 18-16 vote, the Senate passed an amended version of HB 3300, making significant changes to the version of the bill that the Senate Finance Committee had introduced just days before. The amended bill was voted on mere hours after being introduced, and was passed without a full fiscal analysis. With…
Economy
WOWK - The West Virginia legislature has until Sunday to jointly come to an agreement on whether the state will eliminate its personal income tax. Watch the full segment. Local policy analysts are concerned about what may be in, or left out of a bill with only three days left to debate it. In a…
Associated Press, US News, Martinsville Bulletin, WV News, Middletown Press, Bristol Herald Courier, Tulsa World, WVVA, Flipboard, Chron, - West Virginia Republicans’ attempt to cut the state income tax took a key step forward after the state Senate narrowly approved a measure on Wednesday night. Read the full article. But its fate remains uncertain in…
Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - Two bills to change how West Virginia’s natural resources are valued for property tax purposes are moving through the Legislature. Proponents say the measures — which would probably lower the taxes companies pay — are necessary to address statutory and constitutional requirements. But it could also reduce the tax…
Beckley Register-Herald - Don’t let anyone tell you that the window of opportunity is closing on the West Virginia Legislature to pass on a major effort to eliminate the state’s personal income tax and blow a $2.1 billion hole in annual revenue collections. Read the full article. While House Speaker Roger Hanshaw said Tuesday he…
WSAZ - The executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says the latest version of Gov. Jim Justice’s plan to repeal the state income tax is “pretty similar to his original proposal.” Read the full article. The “Justice 4 All” version of the plan was announced Monday evening at a meeting with…
WOWK - Governor Jim Justice began the discussion when he had a bill introduced that would phase out the state income tax over four years, but it would raise the consumer sales from 6 percent to 7.9 percent. Read the full article. The State Senate also put forth a similar bill to phase out the…
Insurance Journal - Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy. Read the full article. The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the state spent that much in 2019 on issues that stem from the addiction…
WV News - The dominant theme running throughout this year’s session of the West Virginia Legislature has been tax reform. Read the full article. The 60-day session is set to end April 10, and there are still multiple, competing tax plans up in the air. While all the plans revolve around ways to eliminate the…
The Intelligencer: Wheeling News-Register - Gov. Jim Justice on Friday called for a “summit meeting” with House and Senate members of both parties on the proposals to eliminate the state income tax. Read the full article. The summit would be held noon Monday at the Cultural Center, Justice said during his coronavirus update Friday morning. It would…