Inside Higher Ed - State budget season is here, and with a few notable exceptions—California and New York among them—many states are entering it with a significant surplus. Read the full article. Thanks to a number of factors—including increased tax revenue, lingering pandemic stimulus funds and, at least in oil- and gas-rich states, boom times for the energy…
Tax and Budget
West Virginia Public Radio - On this West Virginia Morning, reporter Chris Schulz sat down with budget policy expert Sean O’Leary from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy to discuss the proposed state budget and the potential possibilities. Listen to the full segment. The budget is the only piece of legislation that must be…
West Virginia MetroNews - Delegates sent an income tax cut bill rocketing out on a 95-2 vote toward the Senate, where the Finance Committee chairman says it has no chance of survival. Read the full article. House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss said the dominant passage vote in that chamber should send a message. “It’s once in a…
Mountain State Spotlight, West Virginia Daily News - As West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice stood in the House of Delegates chamber last week delivering the annual State of the State address, he jumped from topic to topic, highlighting his greatest hits. When he came to the state’s abortion ban, the assembled lawmakers rose in a…
Logan Banner - Gov. Jim Justice’s proposed 50% income tax cut is advancing through the West Virginia House of Delegates and could be introduced Wednesday in the Senate. Read the full article. During Monday’s floor session, the House advanced the bill to second reading, which will take place Tuesday, paving the way for a third…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - An in-depth discussion about the income tax bill working its way through the House, with Delegates who offer up very different proposals. Plus, hear from the Governor’s Revenue Secretary and the Executive Director of the WV Center on Budget and Policy on this episode of Outside the Echo Chamber. Listen to the…
Public News Service - West Virginia's teachers' union warns that new proposed tax cuts will further shrink school budgets and drive more educators out of the profession. A crippling number of vacancies are straining school operations, and the number of non-certified teachers that have left their jobs has doubled since 2018, according to the state's…
West Virginia News - Gov. Jim Justice is proposing a $4.884 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2024. Read the full article. The governor’s budget contains $115 million for an average 5% pay raise for state employees, $59 million to increase reimbursement rates for the West Virginia Public Employees Insurgence Agency and $35 million to…
At his State of the State address last week, Governor Justice announced a proposal he called a "tsunami" to reduce the personal income tax by 50 percent. As we’ve previously highlighted, personal income tax cuts by nature overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest households. In this case, one out of every six dollars in tax cuts would…
Associated Press, CBS News, WCHS, Telegraph, Herald-Standard- West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s budget proposal doesn’t go far enough to support the most vulnerable and marginalized residents in one of the nation’s poorest states, advocates said Thursday. Read the full article. Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia Director Jim McKay said it was poignant to him that…