The
state started out the new fiscal year with more than $17 million less in tax
collections that it had anticipated. The numbers were released Monday.
State
Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss said the state continues to struggle with lower
collections from coal severance tax and personal income tax collections.
“We’re
not entirely surprised. I think we’re optimistic that things in the long-term
will be better but we are continuing to see things in the short-term with
specific challenges,” Kiss said. “We’re not seeing the turn around that we were
hoping to see.”
It’s
a numbers game for the state right now while revenues for coal severance are
down, tax monies for natural gas are up.
“The
amount of growth we need to see in oil and gas and the revenue that it brings
with it needs to be significantly higher than the loss we’ve seen in coal,”
Kiss said. “The trend there is hopeful but we still have quite a ways to go.”
Personal
income tax collections finished $11.2 million below estimates for July while
withholding tax revenues also missed the mark. Kiss said, even though it’s not
linked to general revenue, lottery proceeds continue to be cut by competition
from other states. He said the state is still waiting for that to bottom out.
The state has also been hurt by a significant reduction in exported goods from
a high of $7.5 billion in 2012 to $4 billion this past fiscal year.
Gov.
Earl Ray Tomblin decided to keep a state government hiring freeze in effect.
Kiss said the freeze saved the state $33 million last fiscal year and continues
to give the current budget the flexibility it needs. He’s hopeful the economy
will turn around before the state is forced to make other budget moves.
