By Steven Allen Adams, The Journal
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As a debate over how to provide tax relief for West Virginians rages on, the state has collected just short of a half billion dollars in tax collections in the first three months of the current fiscal year.
According to data the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee that was released Monday morning, tax collections for West Virginia’s fiscal year 2023 general revenue budget for July, August and September totaled $1.5 billion, which was 38.8% more than the $1.1 billion revenue estimate, leaving the state with a $427 million surplus.
Tax collections for the first three months of the fiscal year, that began on July 1, also exceeded the previous fiscal year’s first quarter collections by 28%. During this same time period in fiscal year 2022, the state collected $1.2 billion, with a $333.1 million surplus for the quarter. The $427 million in tax revenue surplus for the quarter represents nearly a third of the $1.3 billion tax revenue surplus with which the state ended fiscal year 2022.
September tax collections came in at $638.8 million, 42.2% more than the $446 million estimate from the Department of Revenue set on July 1. September’s tax revenue surplus was $192.8 million. September revenue collections also outperformed September 2021 collections by 26.6%…