By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lawmakers received an update on the state’s finances Monday as they consider enacting another personal income tax reduction.
Larry Pack, acting revenue secretary, gave an optimistic view of the current financial outlook and pointed to the “about $3 billion in cash sitting in different places” the state has.
“I think it’s something you should be really proud of,” Pack said during testimony to the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Finance. “I know the governor is really proud of the financial performance and the successes over the last seven years that are just absolutely amazing.”
Before the start of Gov. Jim Justice’s administration, the state had around a half billion dollars in its rainy day fund and “didn’t really have very much more anywhere else,” Pack said.
“We were in really tough financial times,” he said.
Today, there is approximately $1.3 billion in the state’s two rainy day funds; around $460 million in the Personal Income Tax Reserve Fund; and more than $630 million remaining from the last fiscal year’s budget surplus, Pack said.
