Tax and Budget

September 5, 2024 by Seth DiStefano
West Virginia Should Adopt Free File for 2025 Tax Season

Tax filing can be a costly and complicated process for families and small businesses. The reason the system is so complicated is because for years, paid tax preparation corporations have profited by charging families to fulfill their legal obligation to file taxes each year. These companies, including Intuit and H&R Block, have conducted massive lobbying efforts…

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September 4, 2024 by WVCBP
Slow Down on Those Tax Cuts

West Virginia MetroNews, Charleston Gazette-Mail - The West Virginia Legislature and Governor Jim Justice have been effective tax cutters. In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill reducing the state’s five marginal tax rates by 21.25 percent. Read the full article. That law also put in place a formula whereby if certain financial benchmarks were met,…

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August 26, 2024 by WVCBP
Providers and Advocates: More Clarity Needed on Childcare Subsidy Funding

Weirton Daily Times - Providers and advocates for childcare in West Virginia are pleased funding has been found to hold off a looming shortfall in childcare subsidy funding until the end of the year, but they’re not pleased with how this was communicated. Read the full article. Several childcare advocacy groups rallied Sunday in the…

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August 23, 2024 by WVCBP
Big Jim’s Numbers are Not Adding Up

Beckley Register-Herald, Fayette Tribune - Gov. Jim Justice, as he does, was acting like he did us all a big favor on Thursday when he announced that the state would increase funding for state programs that help pay for in-home care of those who have a difficult time caring for themselves, primarily lonely and homebound…

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August 19, 2024 by WVCBP
Children of Abuse and Neglect Gain Advocacy Program in Raleigh County

Beckley Register-Herald, Bluefield Daily Telegraph - A West Virginia organization centered on advocating for children who have been abused or neglected to find them a permanent home now has a base in Raleigh County. Read the full article. In July, Kristi Williams Dumas was named the executive director of CASA of New River, based in…

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August 16, 2024 by WVCBP
West Virginia’s Personal Income Tax To Drop 4% Next Year, Justice Says

Associated Press, West Virginia News, Wheeling Intelligencer, Weirton Daily Times, Times West Virginian - West Virginians will see their personal income taxes drop by 4% in the new year, Gov. Jim Justice said. Read the full article. The Republican governor announced Thursday that state revenues had met the threshold to trigger the reduction, set to…

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August 14, 2024 by Kelly Allen
Calls For More Tax Cuts Conflict With Slowing Revenues, Growing Unmet Needs

West Virginia lawmakers are under pressure from Governor Justice to override the tax cut triggering mechanism created as part of the 2023 state income tax law and enact additional cuts on his way out the door. But state revenue and budget pressures, including slowing revenues, costly enacted legislation, and a myriad of unmet needs come…

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August 10, 2024 by Sean O'Leary
Statehouse Beat: A Crash Course in State Taxes

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Personally, I don’t believe that Americans in general or West Virginians in particular are lacking intelligence so much as they are consistently uninformed or ill-informed. Read the full article. Case in point: I went on the Twitterverse recently to post an inane comment by Gov. Jim Justice, who claimed, “If we get…

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August 9, 2024 by Kelly Allen
Hope Scholarship Set to Reshape West Virginia Education

WBOY - The Hope Scholarship offers $4,921 for families who would like their children to be educated outside of the public school system. Currently, it’s only available to students entering kindergarten, but in 2026, it will be opened to all students in West Virginia. Read the full article. State Treasurer Riley Moore says that as many as…

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