Charleston Gazette-Mail – A House of Delegates plan to phase out the state’s personal income tax, the state’s largest source of general revenue at about $2.1 billion a year, will be on passage stage in the House Friday. Read the full article.
A counterpoint to Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal to initially cut income tax rates by 60%, resulting in a loss of $1.07 billion a year in revenue, House Bill 3300 anticipates phasing out the tax at a slower pace of multiples of about $150 million a year.
However, unlike Justice’s plan, which would partially offset lost revenue by raising more than $900 million annually from hikes in sales taxes and other tax increases, the House plan does not have a direct funding mechanism to replace lost revenue. Under HB 3300, lost revenue would grow by about $150 million a year until the entire $2.1 billion a year of tax revenue is eliminated. According to the bill’s fiscal note, that could occur somewhere between 2033 and 2039.
The bill will be up for a passage vote Friday, just three days after it originated in House Finance Committee, despite strong opposition to the bill during a virtual public hearing Thursday.
