State
tax collections in West Virginia
It
was the second month in a row for better than expected revenue collections, but
state officials said that’s largely due to a technicality since some insurance
premium tax money came in earlier than expected.
Overall,
revenue collections are $64 million below estimates for the year with just four
months remaining until the fiscal year ends at the close of June.
“We
hope that things will improve in the next few months (so) that we won’t
have a whole lot more red ink,” said Mark Muchow, state Deputy Revenue
Secretary.
He
said personal income tax collections for February were about $6 million above
estimates, canceling out down personal income tax numbers in January.
At
the same time, sales tax collections came in $2.3 million below
estimates. Muchow said those numbers could rebound in the spring
since snow has forced many people to stay home.
“It
appears that the winter weather has had a negative impact throughout the
mid-Atlantic region in terms of sales tax collections for February,” he said.
Severance
tax collections also missed estimates by $5.2 million in February and are, thus
far, off the mark $7.3 million total for the year. Muchow said those
collections have been on the decline for some time, falling 14% since
2012.
“Two
years ago was our peak year for severance tax. We’ve had a little
bit of a downward trend,” Muchow said. “Since then, most of the downward
action is associated with the coal industry’s performance.”
He
said there are some unknowns between now and the end of the 2013-2014 Fiscal
Year, including the tax credit that can still be claimed for purchases of
vehicles running on alternative fuels.
Lawmakers
will address the state budget for the next fiscal year during an extended
session next week.
