The independent think tank Headwaters Economics has released a report on the best fiscal practices for states and local governments with oil and natural gas extraction. The report states, "Drilling for oil and natural gas is a high-impact economic activity that presents opportunities and challenges for state and local governments seeking to reconcile the benefits of job and…
Tax and Budget
With the election over and the "fiscal cliff" drawing near, the nation's attention has once again turned to the federal government's budget deficit and the problems we face addressing it. Most agree that some combination of spending cuts and tax increases will be necessary in order to put the federal budget on a sustainable path,…
Friday's Daily Mail reported on the state's latest monthly revenue report. The report shows that the state ended October with a $3.8 million surplus over what the budget office had estimated. The surplus was credited to higher than expected corporate income and business franchise tax revenue, which are currently running 21 percent ahead of expectations. However,…
While there has been a lot of debate about how President Obama's environmental policies would hurt West Virginia's coal industry and economy, there has been very little discussion about the impact of Governor Romney and Representative Paul Ryan's proposed policies on the Mountain State. Both Romney and Ryan have proposed drastic changes to federal spending…
Every year, West Virginia’s policymakers scrutinize the state’s budget. Every dollar spent must be accounted for, and how much is allocated to education, healthcare, infrastructure and other public services must be carefully considered. And once the fiscal year is over, the budget process begins again, and what programs are funded and where the tax dollars…
With a number of tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, Congressional Republicans have called for extending one tax cut in particular, while endings improvements in tax credits for millions of low and moderate income working families. As part of the 2009 stimulus bill, several improvements were made to the Earned…
In their 2013 Policy Reports, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce advocates for the creation of a new tax loophole for businesses to avoid paying the state corporate net income and business franchise taxes. The Chamber wants the state to repeal the "sales throw out rule" and ensure that it is not replaced by a "sales…
Recent comments by Mitt Romney about the "47 percent" have prompted discussion about who actually pays taxes and why. Mr. Romney's sentiment was also recently echoed by West Virginia's Representative Shelley Moore Capito at last month's fiscal summit featuring Alan Simpson and Erksine Bowles, when Representative Capito asked about the 47 percent of Americans who…
On September 11, 2012, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Executive Director Ted Boettner presented at the WV Legislative Interims to the Joint Economic Development Commission regarding transparency and accountability of business tax incentives. Boettner found that West Virginia should take steps to help policymakers and the public know if taxpayer-funded subsides are creating…
On Monday, the Governor announced that some state agencies will have to reduce their budgets by 7.5 percent next year to make way for a projected budget gap in the FY 2013-14 budget that begins on July 1, 2013. Left untouched by the budget cuts are the school-aid formula, corrections programs, the legislative and judicial branches, Medicaid,…