The positive news that surfaced
following November tax collections in West
Virginia
Kiss said that probably means the state
government hiring freeze will remain in effect for the rest of the fiscal year.
“Our hope was that (the freeze) may not
have to be in place for the whole year but at this point clearly the hiring
freeze will have to be in place this year,” Kiss said.
The drag is coming in severance tax
collections missing estimates by $18 million last month. State Deputy Revenue
Secretary Mark Muchow told reporters during a conference call prices for coal
and natural gas are down significantly taking down the tax collection numbers.
Muchow said a few cold weather weeks in January would help things.
Some in the new Republican leadership
in the state legislature have suggested tax cuts during the upcoming
legislative session. Secretary Kiss said he has a hard time seeing that without
major spending cuts.
“I’m not sure without making
significant additional reductions in the budget how you are going to be able to
present additional tax cuts, certainly not in the short term,” Kiss said.
The legislature is already staring out
a budget hole that is expected to top $200 million for next fiscal year. Kiss
said recent tax cuts have contributed to the current “revenue challenges.”
“One of the reasons is the state has
undergone a several year cycle of significant tax reductions,” he said.
Personal income tax collections were down $21 million in
December but consumer sales tax collections were up $3.5 million. January
numbers should reflect holiday shopping sales tax collections.
