West Virginia Public News Service – As West Virginia lawmakers consider reforming the state’s tax code, the West Virginia Center On Budget and Policy is arguing that it needs to be made fairer to low- and middle-income families. Read
Over time, said Ted Boettner, executive director of the center, the state’s tax system gradually has come to favor the wealthy.
“West Virginia has an upside-down tax system,” he said. “If you look at who pays taxes here in our state, (it) turns out that the middle-class and low-income families pay a larger share of their incomes in state and local taxes than the wealthiest households in the state.”
Republican legislative leaders have said they might consider getting rid of the state’s income tax. Boettner said that could well make the tax system even less fair by putting more reliance on the sales tax, which lands hardest on the poor.
