Ten states, including West Virginia, have enacted proposals that cut personal or corporate income taxes at various points in the future, contingent on revenues reaching a certain level or growth rate. While using triggers is often portrayed as fiscally responsible, it is far from it. Lawmakers enacting these drawn out tax cuts typically do not…
Tax and Budget
West Virginia MetroNews - Both houses of the Legislature have passed a bill that would divert dollars for students leaving public schools for private school or homeschooling. Read the full article. And the governor let go into law without his signature a bill clarifying that strikes against the state by public employees including educators are unlawful. The…
Overview Governor Jim Justice has proposed what he describes as a “flat” budget for FY 2022, with only minor changes from the FY 2021 budget. While the state budget remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, that stability relied on tapping reserves, federal stimulus funding, and other temporary measures. The future budget picture remains troubling, with…
Mountain State Spotlight, West Virginia Public Broadcasting - So far, Gov. Jim Justice has been the sole authority spending the $1.25 billion West Virginia received in federal coronavirus relief. Read the full article. Advocates have argued that he hasn’t spent enough of it to address the immediate needs of West Virginians facing the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic…
For Immediate Release: March 15, 2021Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV - Last month, Governor Jim Justice proposed what he described as a “flat” budget for FY 2022, with only minor changes from the FY 2021 budget. While the state budget remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, that stability relied on tapping reserves, federal stimulus funding, and other temporary…
West Virginia MetroNews - The West Virginia Business & Industry Council is raising concerns that Gov. Jim Justice’s big plan would zoom to the top of the wrong ranking. Read the full article. “West Virginia will have the highest state consumer sales tax in the nation at 7.9 percent,” the broad-based business organization wrote in a…
Multistate - Whenever West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) discusses his plan to eliminate his state’s personal income tax, he reiterates two key points: (1) the tax will be a net positive for West Virginia taxpayers and (2) it will lead to significant population growth for the state. To back up his claim, the governor’s…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice’s big tax proposal has been introduced in the House of Delegates, and the governor is telling West Virginians to close their eyes and just imagine the results. Read the full article. “My plan will seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform West Virginia’s tax structure; raising wages, raising home…
Over the weekend, the U.S. Senate passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Now the bill must go back to the U.S. House before President Joe Biden signs it into law. The package includes many features that were part of the CARES Act, including direct cash payments to taxpayers and…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice isn’t happy about about some restrictions for how states can use federal relief built into the plan passed by the U.S. Senate. Read the full article. “It’s all about just petty nothing,” Justice said today. “That’s the only reason that got written in there.” The $1.9 trillion federal relief package…