BECKLEY, W.Va. — A survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found good news for West Virginia’s tax competitiveness.
West Virginia ranked 18th overall for the most competitive tax code in the nation, according to the pro-business tank tank Tax Foundation.
That is up nine slots from three years ago, when West Virginia ranked 27th. Wyoming ranked the most competitive, and New Jersey ranked the least.
The survey examined seven different taxes to arrive at the ranking of 18. In corporate tax structure the Mountain State ranked No. 17. The state came in at No. 26 for individual income tax structure; sales tax structure was ranked No. 15. West Virginia came in at No. 13 in property tax structure, and in unemployment insurance tax structure it ranked No. 27, the survey found.
The Tax Foundation said West Virginia’s tax structure is mirroring a national trend.
“Substantive state tax reform has gained a lot of momentum over the past few years,” said Scott Drenkard, the foundation’s director of state projects.
That is true in West Virginia. Last session, the GOP-controlled Legislature vowed taxes were a top priority.
The report notes that in a compromise enacted in the June special session, the Legislature agreed to a tax increase of 65 cents per pack and the imposition of a new 7.5 cent per milliliter tax on e-cigarette liquid, narrowing the budget gap by an estimated $98 million and averting a possible government shutdown.
“With the tax increase, West Virginia’s cigarette tax, at $1.20 per pack, will be substantially higher than those in Virginia (30 cents per pack), Kentucky (60 cents), North Carolina (45 cents), and Tennessee (62 cents), but remains below rates in Pennsylvania and Ohio (both $1.60). West Virginia has also joined four other states and the District of Columbia in enacting taxes on vapor products,” the Foundation reports.
A request to interview a state tax official at the Department of Revenue last week was not successful.
