October 17, 2018

West Virginia: Who Pays? 6th Edition


WEST VIRGINIA

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WEST VIRGINIA STATE AND LOCAL TAXES

Taxes as Share of Family Income

Top 20%
Income Group Lowest
20%		 Second
20%		 Middle
20%		 Fourth
20%		 Next
15%		 Next
4%		 Top
1%
Income Range Less than
$15,900		 $15,900 to
$29,500		 $29,500 to
$48,100		 $48,100 to
$81,500		 $81,500 to
$158,700		 $158,700 to
$401,600		 over
$401,600
Average Income $8,900 $22,700 $37,000 $61,600 $107,400 $220,500 $702,400
Sales & Excise Taxes 6.6% 5.3% 4.6% 3.6% 2.7% 1.7% 0.9%
General Sales – Individuals 2.8% 2.7% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.6%
Other Sales & Excise – Ind. 2.7% 1.7% 1.3% 0.9% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1%
Sales & Excise on Business 1.0% 0.9% 0.9% 0.7% 0.5% 0.3% 0.2%
Property Taxes 2.4% 2.0% 1.4% 1.6% 1.5% 1.4% 1.8%
Home, Rent, Car – Ind. 2.3% 1.9% 1.2% 1.5% 1.3% 1.0% 0.5%
Other Property Taxes 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.4% 1.3%
Income Taxes 0.5% 1.9% 2.5% 3.6% 4.6% 4.6% 4.7%
Personal Income Tax 0.4% 1.8% 2.5% 3.6% 4.5% 4.5% 4.6%
Corporate Income Tax 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
TOTAL TAXES 9.4% 9.1% 8.5% 8.8% 8.7% 7.7% 7.4%

Individual figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. Download the table

TAX FEATURES DRIVING THE DATA in West Virginia

Progressive Features

Regressive Features
  • Graduated personal income tax structure
  • State sales tax base excludes groceries
  • Provides a refundable property tax “circuit breaker” credit to low-income taxpayers via the income tax
  • Requires the use of combined reporting for the corporate income tax
  • Fails to provide a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
  • Does not levy a tax on estates or inheritances

ITEP Tax Inequality Index

According to ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index, which measures the impact of each state’s tax system on income inequality, West Virginia has the 37th most unfair state and local tax system in the country. Incomes are more unequal in West Virginia after state and local taxes are collected than before. (See Appendix B for state-by-state rankings and the methodology section for additional detail on the index.)

Note: Figures show permanent law in West Virginia enacted through September 10, 2018, at 2015 income levels. Top figure represents total state and local taxes as a share of non-elderly income. The sixth edition of Who Pays does not include the impact of the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) because policy changes in the 2017 federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act temporarily limited the extent to which the SALT deduction functions as a generalized offset of state and local taxes.