An Issue Brief identifying the facts behind the federal deficit. Both spending and revenues have contributed to the deficit. Growth in federal spending is projected to slow, and the economy is expected to outgrow the current deficit. The brief identifies healthcare costs rather than spending as the primary source of the long-term deficit problem.…
Tax and Budget
As the election grows near, if there is a a dominant message to be heard from the candidates on the national level, it's that federal spending has been out of control and needs to be drastically cut. Advertisements often cite the financial bailouts, the stimulus plan, and the new health care law as examples of…
In 2010, the West Virginia House of Delegates and the WV Tax Modernization Working Group endorsed allowing counties to exempt business personal property from property tax rolls. A recent analysis by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy shows that such an exemption would reduce much-needed funding of our education system, put a financial…
Congresswomen Capito argued in the Gazette on "Labor Day" (of all days...) to renew Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. In the op-ed, Capito resorted to presenting voters with a "false choice" about the Bush tax cuts and by presenting the facts in a way that would make Orwell blush. Here's Capito: "Contrary to popular belief, the…
There is bright news coming from the West Virginia State Budget Office August cash flow report. General Revenues collected in August are ahead of schedule, most likely due to increased sales in back-to-school purchases and improvements in business activity due to stimulus spending. General Revenue collections were up $31 million dollars at the end of…
As one of her reasons for voting against The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act (a.k.a. jobs bill), Congresswomen Capito stated in the Gazette this morning that "this bill add to our already bloated deficit." Leaving aside for a moment that Capito bears significant responsibility for our large budget deficits, the assertion that the jobs bill adds to the deficit is unsubstantiated and…
The evidence that renewing Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans would work against the interest of average Americans is overwhelming. First, renewing breaks for the wealthy would reduce revenues by anywhere from $80 billion to $90 billion over the next two years. Revenue projections in the long-term look bleak, as well, with an estimated…
On a vote of 61-30, the US Senate approved $25 billion in state fiscal relief. This includes $15 billion in Medicaid support and $10 billion in education support. For West Virginia, this amounts to $136 million, with an estimated $81 million in Medicaid funds and $55 million in education funds. Both Goodwin and Rockefeller voted…
AP has an article this morning showing that the state is running a $24 million surplus in the first month of FY 2011. Mark Muchow, Deputy Secretary of Revenue (and the guy who calculated the revenue projections for FY 2011), said it was "mostly due to...early lottery fund transfer and one-time liquor license renewal payments."…
Every year, the Tax Foundation releases its State Business Tax Climate Index. Every year, West Virginia fares poorly in this ranking, this year we come in at 37. The argument is that taxes matter to businesses, they affect business decisions, job creation and the long-term health of a state's economy. Therefore, a state with low tax costs will…