West Virginia Revenue Secretary Touts Income Tax Cut

photo by: Photo courtesy of WV Legislative Photography

Department of Revenue Cabinet Secretary Dave Hardy told lawmakers that the effects of the personal income tax cut signed into law in March should be seen at the end of April.

CHARLESTON — West Virginians will have paid more than $800 million less in income taxes by June 30, 2024, because of the cuts approved this year, the secretary of the Department of Revenue said Thursday.

A 21.5% reduction retroactive to Jan. 1 was passed by the Legislature this year.

Taxpayers through June 30, 2023, will pay $114 million less in income taxes, Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy said during Gov. Jim Justice’s online briefing on Thursday afternoon. Less was taken from paychecks starting after the new withholding tables were set in March, he said.

By June 30, 2024, the amount grows to $810 million in less income taxes paid by residents “to use for their own personal use and benefit,” Hardy said.

“And that’s good for West Virginia. It’s going to stimulate the economy and it’s going to result in more economic activity in our state,” he said.

An increase in the consumer sales tax collections and more money for small businesses and entering the economy are anticipated, he said.

Personal income tax rates could see another cut in 2025, Hardy said. The trigger formula is a comparison of general revenue collections in a previous fiscal year minus severance tax collections compared to the base year of fiscal year 2019 and tied to the non-seasonally adjusted consumer price index.

“If we continue to perform at the rate we are, that trigger will allow for additional state income tax cuts in calendar year ’25,” Hardy said.

Other tax rebates passed this year will take effect in 2024, he said. The largest may be the car personal property tax rebate on eight classifications of vehicles, including cars, trucks, trailers, buses, motorcycles, farm trucks, antique vehicles and ATVs, Hardy said.

The tax paid will be a dollar-for-dollar credit on state income taxes, Hardy said. More information is at tax.wv.gov, he said.

Another tax credit will be for disabled veterans, of which about 10,000 residents are eligible, who will receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on the property taxes paid on a primary residence, Hardy said. If no taxes are paid, the credit will be sent by check or wire transfer, he said.

Also going into effect is a personal property tax credit for small businesses with personal property appraised at $1 million or less.

Justice spent a portion of the briefing being critical of the EPA’s proposed new standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants and the situation on the country’s borders. The environmental standards were issued Thursday morning.

The energy policy of the Biden administration is like the Obama administration’s, according to Justice. Fossil fuel plants generate 60% of the electricity in the United States, Justice said

“These people are really H-bent on trying to kill fossil fuels in this country,” Justice, whose family owns coal companies, said. “These people aren’t necessarily bad people, but I think they are misguided in such a severe way.”