What West Virginia Needs to Do in Order to Compete in the 21st Century (Charleston: car insurance)
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Thanks for sharing that. I have always felt that West Virginia needed a tax overhaul... it is good to see that it is being given serious consideration. I'm sure it is not an easy task.
Thanks for sharing that. I have always felt that West Virginia needed a tax overhaul... it is good to see that it is being given serious consideration. I'm sure it is not an easy task.
look what low taxes has done for nevada and its economy... people and companies are flocking there - the minimal taxes play a large part
I believe it! A simple example: I know so many people who moved to Proctorville, OH to escape WV's taxes, or who drive to Catlettsburg, KY to buy their groceries or tobacco.
Or a personal example: When I moved, I no longer had to pay state, county, or city taxes on my car, my dog, my income, or whether I drive into a certain city (ahem, Huntington) to work. Even my car insurance went down!
It's not fair to WV residents. The comparative minority who "have" are shouldering the enormous burden of the state's elderly and jobless, and nobody gets ahead. I would like to see some creativity in Charleston to address this.
Exactly!!! Well said, if some of these taxes are not done away with the state will continue to suffer and lose countless jobs and population growth to other states with less taxation. Excessive taxing has ruined the WV economy, and if something isn't done at the capital to fix this the state will continue to lag behind the nation.
1. If you cut certain taxes, you either have to increase other taxes to compensate, or cut services. What taxes would you increase, or what services would you cut?
The state budget is online, and I'll have some figures on this in a future post.
2. Compared to other states, West Virginia falls near the middle, in terms of state & local taxes as a percentage of per capita income. See this chart. WV ranks 21st, at 10.9%, but the 10.0-11.9% range goes all the way from 9th (Nebraska) to 38th (Florida).
By the way, the ratio is highest in Vermont (14.1%) and lowest in Alaska (6.6%) and New Hampshire (8.0%). In the United States as a whole, the percentage is 11.0%.
1. If you cut certain taxes, you either have to increase other taxes to compensate, or cut services. What taxes would you increase, or what services would you cut?
The state budget is online, and I'll have some figures on this in a future post.
2. Compared to other states, West Virginia falls near the middle, in terms of state & local taxes as a percentage of per capita income. See this chart. WV ranks 21st, at 10.9%, but the 10.0-11.9% range goes all the way from 9th (Nebraska) to 38th (Florida).
By the way, the ratio is highest in Vermont (14.1%) and lowest in Alaska (6.6%) and New Hampshire (8.0%). In the United States as a whole, the percentage is 11.0%.
Snorpus
I don't know how I'd fix it. I doubt it's even possible, and that's why I'd want someone with more creativity than me to figure it out! It just seems to me like the literal lay of the land has got to make it difficult to attract more quality corporations (e.g. Toyota) who can ease the tax burden on the residents.
Thanks for the link for the chart! Yes, I saw where WV falls in the somewhere in the middle of percentage of income taxed if you compare it to other states.
However, that same chart shows that WV is second to last in the country in per-capita income. (We barely beat Arkansas by $53, which isn't much.) 10.9% of a West Virginian's income is a much bigger bite than from, say, someone from Maryland. Maryland's taxed at 10.8%, however, if I crunched my numbers right, they're making 63% more than the average West Virginian.
For example, 11% docked from someone who makes $9/hr is much larger difference to them than 11% from someone making $15.00.
In my ideal universe, the states with the lowest per capita income would also be the states with the lowest tax burden. Let those who have less keep more of what they make. But I realize I swim in dangerous waters with that line of thinking.
Last edited by Leah79; 04-05-2007 at 09:08 PM..
Reason: punctuation
i agree with snorpus .... it's somewhat of a double edged sword to cut taxes. cutting taxes means that you have to cut services, which isn't exactly a positive when you are trying to draw in employers and employees.
my take would be that the government needs to develop some good incentives to offer to employers who bring business into the state. i would also offer that we need to re-allocate our taxes perhaps a little differently.
Leah 79, I agree with you except for what you said about Maryland. Cost of living and property values are so much higher that whatever income difference is pretty much canceled.
With the taxes this State collects I'd sure wish they would plow the roads when it snows. Especially the Interstates.It's pretty sad when they usually only have one lane cleared.I've been on I-68 heading into Maryland or I-77/64 going to Virginia in bad weather a lot of times and as soon as I hit either of those other states all lanes were cleared.Heck this past Saturday on RT 50 the bridges were a sheet of ice and no DOH trucks were in sight.
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Definitely!
