CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Governor Jim Justice took time Wednesday morning to address residents of the state regarding a number of issues, not the least of which was the West Virginia Senate’s recently announced plan to reduce the personal income tax throughout the state.
The Senate Bill, which will be taken up on the Senate Floor Wednesday, looks to reduce the tax burden of West Virginians by approximately $600 million through a combination of tax reductions that will benefit nearly all West Virginians.
The “comprehensive plan” is said to be the result of extensive analysis of state finances and careful determination of routes forward which could alleviate financial strain without establishing fiscal problems moving forward.
“We studied the numbers, and at the end of the day, we knew the State had only about $600 million to give back to the citizens in the form of tax relief,” Senate President Blair said. “Our plan provides relief for low-income families, senior citizens, disabled veterans, and small business owners, and it eliminates the penalty married couples incur when they file their tax returns jointly in West Virginia. Our plan provides relief for virtually everybody.”
Governor Justice was enthusiastic with regard to the proposed cuts, which would begin with a 15% decrease of the personal income tax for residents of West Virginia.
“Today is a really, really good day and I think it’s wonderful that the Senate finally came to us with their plan,” exclaimed Governor Justice on Wednesday.
“It’s got a lot of really good points. I salute our Senate President, President Blair, and all the great senators that got on board for this effort because it will be a monumental effort.”
Governor Justice has been a strong proponent not only for the decreasing of the personal income tax for state residents, but for the elimination of the tax altogether.
“Cutting our personal income tax will put money in the pockets of hardworking West Virginians and bring prosperity to our state for generations. There is no better incentive than this. Period,” Governor Justice said last month following the passage of House Bill 2526.
The legislation, the lead sponsor of which was House Speaker and Delegate Roger Hanshaw, passed overwhelmingly through this House with 95 Yeas, 2 Nays, and 3 Delegates counted absent for the vote.
“Now we’ve got to do some bidding and we’ve got to do some work on it and everything,” Governor Justice continued on Wednesday. “We surely will all do that, and the House I’m sure will come in and they’ll have ideas as well.”
Governor Justice expressed salutations to both the House and Senate for their respective roles in the moving forward of the personal income tax cuts and expressed a general enthusiasm regarding the future.
“We embrace this. This is great, great news and there’s lots and lots of real goodness in this, the way I see it. The House really came on board immediately and everything with doing substantial tax relief for the people of West Virginia, and we want to salute that. But we want to thank all the Senators that came on board here and everything. It’s good stuff. It’s really, really good stuff so now we sit down to do our real business. Thank you – Especially to our Senate President, President Blair.”
Additional legislative coverage from LOOTPRESS can be seen here.
Governor Justice responds to WV Senate’s proposed income tax plan
