By Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With just two weeks left in the 2023 legislative session, a compromise between the two differing tax reform proposals – one backed by Gov. Jim Justice and the House of Delegates, and one backed by the state Senate – is beginning to move.
The Senate Finance Committee Saturday recommended a strike-and-insert amendment for House Bill 2526 for passage. The bill would have been up for passage Monday, but the full Senate voted for the bill 32-1 after suspending the constitutional rule requiring bills be read on three separate days.
“It is something that is sustainable and it is comprehensive, and it gives back in a way it should to all West Virginians and still has economic impact,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, after the committee vote. “There’s been a lot of heart put into it for the people of West Virginia from every side. Every side wants the right thing done. It’s agreeing to what is right.”
HB 2526 was the vehicle for Gov. Jim Justice’s 50% personal income tax cut bill, cutting the rates over a three-year period. The House passed HB 2526 in a 95-3 vote on the second week of the legislative session.
The strike-and-insert amendment to HB 2526 by the Senate Finance Committee combines the Justice-House personal income tax plan with Senate Bill 424, a plan to cut personal income tax rates by 15% with future triggers to reduce personal income tax rates combined with additional tax breaks and rebates. The compromise bill would return approximately $750 million to taxpayers annually. …
Read more: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2023/02/income-tax-cut-moving-in-legislature/
