West Virginia beats tax collection estimates by $827M

(The Center Square) – West Virginia announced it beat revenue estimates by nearly $827 million for the fiscal year, meaning the state will now implement a 3% or 4% personal income tax cut.

The tax cut is part is an automatic trigger from House Bill 2526, signed into law in 2023.

“When I first took office, I promised you all a rocket ship ride, and look at us now,” Justice said. “We've cut over a billion dollars in taxes, and it's truly unbelievable. This is exactly what a responsible government should do for its people, especially in a state like ours. When the state does well, the people do well.”

The announcement came a day after the state’s 1 cent pop tax ended.

The full tax collection numbers for the fiscal year were not yet available.

Justice said he planned to call legislators back into session to cut an addition 5% off the income tax and he hopes the state continues to move toward eliminating the income tax.

“It’s not our money, it’s the people’s money,” Justice said. “And if there's a way to do it and put more money back into people's pockets, you know what'll happen, they'll spend it here and the multiplier effects on those dollars will absolutely make us better.

Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, was skeptical of the cut, saying that only Alaska has eliminated the tax.

“For @WVGovernor and others to pretend that West Virginia can do so without deeply painful tradeoffs is reckless and insulting,” Allen said.