Falling revenues and rising costs have squeezed West Virginia’s budget in the past few years. Any new proposal or program gets extra scrutiny from legislators who must keep the budget balanced. But when legislators or taxpayers need an estimate of how much new legislation will cost or save the state, the information they receive is…
Tax and Budget
The recent defeat of Kanawha County's proposed education excess levy has put the spotlight on property taxes, creating an opportunity to discuss how West Virginia's property taxes compare to the rest of the country. While adding up the number of specific levy rates is a poor way to measure tax burdens, actually comparing property taxes…
In today's Charleston Gazette, two Marshall University professors should get a slap on the back for speaking truth to power. In a forum on cuts to higher education spending, the two professors had the following reactions when Delegate Nancy Guthrie and other legislators said they couldn't raise taxes on coal and soda to fund higher…
West Virginia's booming natural gas production has led to more than just drilling jobs and severance taxes, it has also increased the state's property tax base. Since 2005, the total assessed value of property in the state has increased from $57.9 billion to $86.6 billion, an increase of 49.5%. And while the growth has been…
Members of the state's media have once again refused to accept that the state's recent series of tax cuts have directly lead to its ongoing budget problems. Last week Budget Office Director Mike McKown told legislators that the state budget faces an $80 million gap that will be need to be closed before the end of…
Another day, another budget presentation that fails to mention the tax cuts that are at the heart of our state budget woes. According to the Gazette, the State Budget Director informed an interim committee that the current budget faces a $80 million shortfall and next year's budget will face a gap of $260 million. This…
The Charleston Gazette reported this morning that three West Virginia lawmakers are planning a trip to Richmond, Virginia to learn how they recently restructured funding for their ailing transportation system. According to a recent report by the Virginia-based Common Wealth Institute, there are several major flaws with the transportation funding package that was signed into…
Kanawha County is getting set to vote on a proposed school excess levy in order to fund the county's library system, which recently lost the financial support of the county school district. The proposal would increase the school excess levy from 29.82 cents to 45.9 cents per $100 for class II properties, and from 59.64…
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey misinformed business leaders and elected officials this week at the WV Chamber of Commerce's Annual Business Summit when he said: "We know that if you look around to all the states West Virginia touches, we have the highest combined individual and corporate tax rate." There are several problems with this statement.…
This weekend's Charleston Gazette included another article lamenting the lost revenue from the alternative vehicle tax credit. When the tax credit was scaled back this past legislative session, it resulted in a rush of people claiming the credit before they become ineligible, pushing up its cost. Now, Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow thinks that the tax…