This West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Issue Brief, On the Brink: Closing West Virginia’s Budget Gap, released today, details the various budget proposals offered by Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Legislature to close the state’s nearly $500 million budget deficit. Read the full brief. The legislature passed a budget with major cuts…
Tax and Budget
On October 7th, voters in West Virginia overwhelmingly approved a $1.6 billion general obligation bond to invest in the state’s road system. This is on top of the estimated $500 million in Turnpike Bonds and $500 million in federal GARVEE road bonds that were approved during the special legislative session earlier this year, along with about $130 million in increased State Road Fund revenues to…
Today, the House approved a tax plan (SB 484) that broadens the sales tax base and lowers the rate to balance the House's budget (HB 2018). Altogether, the tax plan is expected to increase tax revenue in its first two years, while lowering tax revenue by year three. This is because of revenue triggers in…
The state Senate's version of the FY 2018 budget bill has been released, giving a glimpse into how the legislature plans to close the state's budget gap. The Senate's bill spends $402.6 million less from the General Revenue Fund than Governor Justice's proposed budget, meaning that once again, the budget is being balanced largely through spending…
Higher education in West Virginia has been hit hard by the state’s recent budget problems. Public colleges and universities across the state have seen multiple years of budget cuts, at a time when the state sorely needs to invest in its workforce. In response, tuitions have sharply increased to compensate for the budget cuts, making…
The House and the Senate have advanced two similar tax bills that make substantial changes to the state's personal income and sales tax, which account for over 75 percent of state general revenue fund collections. Both of these bills will shift the tax load from the wealthy onto working families. It is unclear how either…
Today, the Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform will consider a joint resolution that calls for a constitutional amendment (SJR 8) that would transform the state and local tax system in West Virginia. Called the "Fair and Simple Tax Reform" amendment, it is part of an upside down tax package that includes SB 335 that…
Yesterday, the House Health Committee passed out HB 2132 that imposes a statewide three-month time limit for SNAP food assistance for childless adults that are working fewer than 20 hours per week. This bill mirrors a similar provision found in SB 60 and HB 2741 that was discussed previously in this blog. If enacted, these…
Last Friday, the Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform explored the idea of amending SB 335 to include a version of a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit. As noted previously, SB 335 would replace the personal and corporate income tax, along with the sales and use tax, with a general consumption tax of 8…
Senate leadership introduced SB 335 which would would abolish the personal income tax and sales and use tax, phase out the corporate income tax, lower the severance tax, and replace these taxes with an 8 percent broad-based general consumption or sales tax. While it is unclear whether this tax shift would be revenue neutral, it would…