West Virginia MetroNews – As the 2021 West Virginia regular legislative session heads into its final week, dozens of citizens stood outside the state Capitol in brisk weather Friday to protest how tax and budget proposals could affect people’s lives. Read the full article.
State community organizations, including the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, called legislators to say ‘No’ to HB 3300, which would eliminate the state personal income tax while resulting in other increased taxes, cuts to existing government services or both.
Groups also protested the proposed Senate budget which includes cuts to various social service programs and to West Virginia University and Marshall.
Kelly Allen, executive director of the Center on Budget & Policy, told MetroNews the event was about showing how people could be affected by the tax plan and budget cuts.
“Since the legislative session has been pretty closed off to the public, it feels like there is momentum around the tax bill that people want this. When we talked to folks, this is not what the top priorities are. They want to see programs funded,” Allen said.
