West Virginia
In West Virginia 18.3 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the West Virginia population (0.1 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 18.3 percent of the tax cuts that go to West Virginia residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 55.9 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 9.3 percent of the tax cuts.
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: New Report Shows Trump Tax Plan Benefits Wealthy, Fails to Help Middle Class
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reveals a federal tax reform plan based on President Trump’s April outline would fail to deliver on its promise of largely helping middle-class taxpayers, showering 61.4 percent of the total tax cut on the richest 1 percent nationwide. In West Virginia, the top 1 percent of the state’s residents would receive an average tax cut of $51,600 compared with an average tax cut of $720 for the bottom 60 percent of taxpayers in the state.
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in West Virginia with 37.4 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in West Virginia would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $791,400 in 2018.
West Virginia Lawmakers Settle on Imperfect Budget, Delay Tax Debate for Next Session
June 21, 2017 • By Aidan Davis
West Virginia’s roller coaster ride of a session is nearing its tumultuous end. In a press conference this morning, Gov. Jim Justice announced that he will let the legislature’s most recent budget bill become law without his signature.
State Rundown 6/21: Crunch Time for Many States with New Fiscal Year on Horizon
June 21, 2017 • By Meg Wiehe
This week several states rush to finalize their budget and tax debates before the start of most state fiscal years on July 1. West Virginia lawmakers considered tax increases as part of a balanced approach to closing the state’s budget gap but took a funding-cuts-only approach in the end. Delaware legislators face a similar choice, […]
State Rundown 6/14: Some States Wrapping Up Tax Debates, Others Looking Ahead to Next Round
June 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week lawmakers in California and Nevada resolved significant tax debates, while budget and tax wrangling continued in West Virginia, and structural revenue shortfalls were revealed in Iowa and Pennsylvania. Airbnb increased the number of states in which it collects state-level taxes to 21. We also share interesting reads on state fiscal uncertainty, the tax experiences of Alaska and Wyoming, the future of taxing robots, and more!
State Rundown 6/7: Kansas Success Story and Other State News
June 7, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, we celebrate a victory in Kansas where lawmakers rolled back Brownback's tax cuts for the richest taxpayers. Governors in West Virginia and Alaska promote compromise tax plans. Texas heads into special session and Vermont faces another budget veto, while Louisiana and New Mexico are on the verge of wrapping up. Voters in Massachusetts may soon be able to weigh in on a millionaire's tax, the California Senate passed single-payer health care, and more!
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Senate Tax Plan is Upward Redistribution
June 3, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
“Some West Virginia Senators are singing a similar tune as Reagan with their tax plan. While they say their plan is a tax cut for everyone, the facts say otherwise. According to a recent analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Senate tax plan would increase taxes for most West Virginia households […]
State Rundown 5/31: Budget Woes Spurring Special Legislative Sessions
May 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, special legislative sessions featuring tax and budget debates are underway or in the works in Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, and West Virginia, as lawmakers are also running up against regular session deadlines in Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a legislative study in Wyoming and an independent analysis in New Jersey are both calling for tax increases to overcome budget shortfalls.
Evidence Counts: Senate Tax Plan Punches More Holes Into Budget (Updated)
May 24, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Similar to previous tax plans from the Senate, this plan increase taxes on most West Virginians while lowering them for higher-income residents. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Senate tax plan increases taxes on 60 percent of West Virginia households while lowering taxes on the top 40 percent of households. This is because lower income West Virginians pay more in sales taxes than income taxes, while the opposite is true for higher income people.
State Rundown 5/24: Several States Scramble to Finalize Budgets
May 24, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, Kansas lawmakers continued work on fixing the fiscal mess created by tax cuts in recent years, as legislators in Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia attempted to wrap up difficult budget negotiations before their sessions come to an end, and Delaware lawmakers advanced a corporate tax increase as one piece of a plan to close that state's budget shortfall. Our "what we're reading" section this week is also packed with articles about state and local effects of the Trump budget, new 50-state research on property taxes, and more.
State Rundown 5/18: Tax Debate Heat Wave Hitting States
May 18, 2017 • By Meg Wiehe
This week saw tax debates heat up in many states. Late-session discovered revenue shortfalls, for example, are creating friction in Delaware, New Jersey, and Oklahoma, while special sessions featuring tax debates continue in Louisiana, New Mexico, and West Virginia. Meanwhile the effort to revive Alaska's personal income tax has cooled off.
West Virginia Metro News: West Virginia Has Miserable Company When It Comes to Budget Troubles
May 14, 2017 • By Meg Wiehe
If there’s a bright side to West Virginia’s state budget troubles — in a misery-loves-company kind of way — it’s that plenty of other states have been having trouble too. “West Virginia is not unique this year or even in recent years in taking a little longer than usual to agree on a budget, largely […]
Evidence Counts: Latest Compromise Tax Plan Still a Bad Deal for West Virginia
May 10, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Last week, the governor called the legislature back into special session to continue work on the state budget. The actual budget bill, however, was not part of the call, instead the intention was for the legislature to vote on a compromise tax plan that would influence how the budget was finalized. The version of the plan ( […]
Evidence Counts: What is the Impact of the “Compromise Tax Proposal” on the Budget and Working Families?
April 24, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this week, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy examined the fiscal impact of the proposed compromise tax plan between Governor Justice and Senate leadership that will influence how the budget is finalized. It appears House leadership is saying “nope” to this plan and it is unclear how the plan would close the state’s […]
Evidence Counts: Senate Tax Plan Creates Big Budget Hole, Shifts Tax Load Onto Working Families (Updated)
March 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Last Wednesday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 409 that makes sweeping changes to the state’s tax system that decrease personal income and severance taxes while increasing sales taxes. Similar to previous Senate tax proposals, SB 409 shifts the tax load onto working families to pay for tax cuts for wealthier West Virginians. On top of […]
Evidence Counts: Tax Reform Might Improve WV’s Business Tax Climate, Sound Familiar?
March 29, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Today, the House will vote on HB 2933, the latest version of “tax reform” in the state. HB 2933 would broaden the sales tax base, lower the sales tax rate to 5%, and create a flat 5.1% income tax rate. The bill would drastically increase West Virginia’s already regressive tax system. The vast majority of […]
Evidence Counts: House and Senate Tax Proposals Shift Tax Load Onto Working Families (Updated)
March 26, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House and the Senate have advanced two similar tax bills that make substantial changes to the state’s personal income and sales tax, which account for over 75 percent of state general revenue fund collections. Both of these bills will shift the tax load from the wealthy onto working families. It is unclear how either […]
Evidence Counts: Wealthiest 1% of West Virginians Gain from Tax Cuts in Health Care Repeal
March 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House proposal to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), provides only a tiny fraction of very wealthy West Virginians tax cuts while reducing the number of Americans with health coverage by an estimated 24 million. The two big tax cuts included in the […]
Evidence Counts: A Marriage Not Made in Heaven: A State EITC Without an Income Tax
February 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Last Friday, the Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform explored the idea of amending SB 335 to include a version of a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit. As noted previously, SB 335 would replace the personal and corporate income tax, along with the sales and use tax, with a general consumption tax of 8 […]
Why, West Virginia, Why?
February 24, 2017 • By Aidan Davis
A recently introduced Senate Bill in West Virginia (SB 335) would ultimately eliminate the state’s personal and corporate income taxes, do away with the sales and use tax, and reduce the state’s severance tax. Under the plan, the revenue lost from this assortment of diverse taxes would be replaced by an 8 percent broad-based general […]
Evidence Count: Governor Justice’s Tax Plan: Who Pays?
February 21, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Governor Jim Justice has not introduced any tax measures yet, but in his State of the State Address and his executive budget there are plans to enact several tax increases to close the Fiscal Year 2018 budget gap of $500 million and address the state’s declining road fund that pays for highway construction, maintenance, and road […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Elimination is a Poor Growth Strategy
February 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Unfazed by a $600 million looming budget deficit, plans by some lawmakers to reduce or eliminate West Virginia’s state income tax — which would mostly benefit the wealthiest residents — and replace it with a sales tax hike are unlikely to produce the economic growth supporter’s claim. Instead it would dramatically shift tax responsibilities from […]
Evidence Counts: Replacing Income Taxes with a General Consumption Tax is Radical and Regressive (SB 335)
February 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Senate leadership introduced SB 335 which would abolish the personal income tax and sales and use tax, phase out the corporate income tax, lower the severance tax, and replace these taxes with an 8 percent broad-based general consumption or sales tax. While it is unclear whether this tax shift would be revenue neutral, it would dramatically […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: What Would Eliminating the Income Tax Mean for West Virginia?
February 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Eliminating the income tax is a strategy that has been tried over and over in other states with little or nothing to show, other than revenue erosion that brings cuts in support for schools, transportation and other true building blocks of broad prosperity. A better course for West Virginia would be to reform the tax […]
