CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Personal income tax collections continue to be driver of the state finishing above estimates in revenue collections.
The governor’s office released the August collection numbers Tuesday.
The state collected roughly $450 million in taxes which topped the estimate for the month by $35 million. After two months of the fiscal year, the state is exceeding estimates by $46 million.
State Revenue Secretary Eric Nelson said personal income tax collections continue to outperform predictions.
“We were $170 million for the month, $15 million over estimate,” Nelson said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
PIT collections are $26 million over estimates year-to-date. The $170 million total for the month is $36 million more than this time last year.
“That’s a very strong 12 percent increase,” Nelson said.
The reason for the increase is likely a result of people getting paid more so they are paying more in taxes, Nelson said.
“The majority of our personal income tax collections are from withholdings and those have ticked up by four to five percent and generally I think that’s because of higher wages but we’ve got more work to do,” Nelson said.
The governor’s office noted personal income tax collections are likely to slow once the new 5 percent PIT reduction, backed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, has its full impact.
Consumer sales tax ($15 million) and severance tax ($10 million) collections finished on the positive side for August.
Nelson said corporate net income tax collections continue to drag behind.
“Our trend has been trending down both in estimates and prior year (collections) and a lot of that has to do with our conforming to the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the national economy with its growing debt and high gas prices will continue to have an impact on the state’s economy.