Last week's blog post explored how eliminating the income tax in West Virginia would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, and that replacing just half the revenue lost with an increased sales tax would result in a substantial tax shift, with low- and middle-income West Virginians seeing a tax increase in order to pay for a tax…
Tax and Budget
Introduction Because county governments must ultimately pay the costs associated with keeping people behind bars in their local jails, the explosion of county jail incarceration is driving enormous and growing pressure on county budgets. County spending on jails is rising, and the amount billed to counties by the Regional Jail Authority is rising even more…
West Virginia's Governor Justice and top lawmakers have expressed support for eliminating or reducing the state's income tax during the upcoming legislative session. The personal income tax is the state’s largest source of tax revenue, providing the state with $1.95 billion in FY 2020, which accounts for 43 percent of the state's general revenue fund.…
Statewide enrollment in West Virginia's public schools fell by 9,300 students this past year, as states across the country are seeing declining school enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Declining enrollment could mean budget cuts for school districts, even as schools struggle with the extra costs of improving remote learning offerings and adopting safety procedures…
For Immediate Release: December 15, 2020Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV - With West Virginia still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic recession, the state’s leaders face difficult choices in the upcoming legislative session. The choices legislators make will help determine whether or not the state will have a swift and equitable recovery with an economy…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Since the pandemic began, America’s billionaires have grown their wealth by a staggering $1 trillion. At the same time, families in West Virginia and across the country are facing increasing hardship and difficulty meeting their basic needs as the health and economic effects of COVID-19 drag on. Read the full article. In…
The personal income tax is the state's largest source of tax revenue. In FY 2019, West Virginia collected $2.096 billion in personal income taxes, funding nearly half of the state's base budget. West Virginia's income tax is structured so that higher-income residents pay a larger share of their income in personal income taxes compared to…
Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - State tax collections in November continued to top expectations, likely as federal pandemic stimulus funding continues to churn the state economy. Read the full article. Justice and Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy have downplayed the impact of the infusion of more than $3 billion of federal pandemic stimulus funds into the…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - While West Virginians are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to figure out if their kids can attend school, the oil and gas industry is working with the West Virginia State Tax Department to cut its property taxes by as much as $62 million per year. Read full article. Last month,…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - While West Virginia has avoided major budget problems, so far, it is unlikely to continue as several billion dollars in federal aid dries up and the economic reality of the pandemic-induced recession continues to put downward pressure on state and local budgets. Link to op-ed here. Policymakers would be wise to take…