Tax and Budget

February 9, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Senators Tout Their Tax Proposal as Responsible and Comprehensive

West Virginia MetroNews - Senate President Craig Blair is feeling pretty good about the rollout of a new tax proposal estimated at $600 million. Read the full article. Senators introduced and passed a bill that touches on several sections of the tax code. On Thursday morning, Senate leaders met with House leaders and representatives of…

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February 9, 2023 by Kelly Allen, Sara Whitaker, Rhonda Rogombe
A Recap of the First Half of the Legislative Session

With a relatively short 60-day legislative session, the bills that get considered—and the ones that don’t—tell us a lot about our lawmakers’ priorities. Now that we are exactly halfway through the 2023 session, the WVCBP team lends insight into what we’ve seen prioritized so far and what we would like to see prioritized during the…

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February 8, 2023 by Kelly Allen
West Virginia’s $1 Billion Surplus Sparks Pitched Tax Battle

Associated Press, West Virginia News, WBOY, Times West Virginian,   - West Virginia’s Republican Senate leaders have answered the call to dramatically slash the state personal income tax by voting to shave 15% off the rate, returning about $600 million to residents. The amount is more than half the state’s budget surplus. Read the full article.…

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February 5, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Session is Halfway There; Tax Cut is Living on a Prayer

West Virginia MetroNews - As West Virginia’s regular legislative session reaches its halfway point this coming week, it’s clear there’s still a big gap on Gov. Jim Justice’s top priority, a 50 percent personal income tax reduction over three years. Read the full article. The governor has continued to barnstorm the state to promote the…

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February 4, 2023 by Kelly Allen
West Virginia’s Surplus Tax Revenue, COVID Dollars Come Under Scrutiny

West Virginia News, Weirton Daily Times - West Virginia is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in excess tax revenue and federal COVID-19 relief dollars that lawmakers must consider what to do with. Members of the public are also weighing in on where that money should go. Read the full article. According to the…

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February 2, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Citizens Want to Put Brakes on Transfer of Federal Relief Dollars to Development Fund

West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice submitted a bill meant to transfer $678 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars to state development funds. Not everybody thinks that’s a great idea. Read the full article. House Bill 2883 calls for $500 million to be transferred to the state Economic Development Authority, a $177 million transfer to the state…

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February 2, 2023 by WVCBP
WVU, Marshall Make Budget Presentations in Charleston

West Virginia MetroNews - Representatives of WVU and Marshall made budget presentations before the state Senate Finance Committee on Thursday afternoon. Both schools described a rapidly changing post-pandemic environment that makes state funding very important to their budgets. Read the full article. The legislature approved $16.6 million for WVU and $9.7 million for MU. The…

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February 1, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
Public Forum Outlines Negative Impact of Proposed Income Tax Cuts

Parkersburg News and Sentinel - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy hosted a community forum about the proposed West Virginia state budget being considered by the Legislature Tuesday night at the Judge Black Annex. Read the full article. The main focus was on Gov. Jim Justice’s 50% personal income tax cut proposal. “I…

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January 31, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
Public Forum on the Proposed State Budget is Held in Parkersburg

WTAP - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy came to Parkersburg and held a public forum on West Virginia’s proposed budget. Read the full article. Policy Outreach Director Seth Distefano gave locals a breakdown of the budget’s basics. He also talked about how Governor Justice’s proposed personal income tax cut could impact it.…

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January 29, 2023 by Kelly Allen
West Virginians Have Varying Opinions on Tax Cuts

West Virginia News - As the Legislature continues to debate cuts to the state personal income tax, industry officials, think tank leaders and members of the public have their own thoughts on tax reform and the best path forward for West Virginia. Read the full article. After years of declaring budget surpluses and after the…

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