Charleston Gazette-Mail – There will be no major proposals coming this year from the Republican Legislature’s new Joint Committee on Tax Reform, although a coalition of community organizations is pushing for a tax credit specifically aimed at low-income workers, a proposal with possible bipartisan support. Read
Sen. Mike Hall, R-Putnam and a co-chairman of the tax reform committee, confirmed Monday that they would make no major proposals, but said that if the Legislature gets in budget negotiations with the governor, that could “open up” some of the work they did toward tax reform.
Hall spoke at a forum on establishing a state earned income tax credit (EITC) in West Virginia.
Twenty-six other states have a state EITC, a tax credit for low-income people that has the support of both parties. Democrats tend to like the EITC because it is a safety net program, effective at raising the incomes of the working poor. And Republicans tend to like the program because you must already have an income to qualify — it only goes to people who are working and is designed not to discourage work.