West Virginia lawmakers completed action on legislation to cut personal income taxes by 5 percent, although they amended out a provision in the bill that also would have increased taxes on vape products.
The vape tax increase would have increased general revenue by an estimated $16 million, but a majority of delegates voted to remove that on Friday. On Saturday, the final day of the session, senators agreed to the change.
Senate Finance Chairman Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, said the vape tax increase existed because of earlier circumstances.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey had been asking to work with lawmakers on a tax cut up to 10 percent. That amount would have equated to roughly $250 million in state revenue.
The original version of the Senate budget reflected a tax cut of that 10% amount. The vape tax increase had been meant as a partial offset.
The House of Delegates, though, expressed strong concerns about whether the state could truly absorb a 10% tax cut right now. That chamber settled on the 5% cut instead.
So, Barrett said, the reasoning for the vape tax increase was diminished.
“The big deal for the Senate early on in session was to try to provide the biggest personal income tax cut to the people of West Virginia as possible. We were trying to go down the path of a 10 percent tax cut that the governor’s been advocating for,” Barrett said.
“The offset that we put in that was the vape tax to be able to start that conversation with the House to see if they had additional offsets to see if they had additional offsets and they had a desire to go to a 10 percent personal income tax cut. I think it’s clear they don’t have a desire to pass a tax cut that large.”
So after the vape tax increase was removed, he said, “It’s important to us here in the Senate on Day 60 to ensure we get a tax cut rather than send a bill back to the House and try to get $16- or $20 million in a vape tax.
“The important part is, the people in West Virginia are going to receive a 5% personal income tax cut and that’s where the focus of the Senate has been to be able to provide the largest tax cut we could get the people to agree to.”