Justice says more citizens will move to West Virginia with tax cuts

Jul. 19—charleston — West Virginia's governor called Thursday for the Legislature to boost the state's economy by cutting personal income taxes when they return to the state capitol for a special session.

Gov. Jim Justice said during an administrative briefing that according to the Tax Foundation, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., West Virginia ranks 19th in the nation for inbound migration, which is people moving into the Mountain State.

Justice displayed a Tax Foundation map showing which states were seeing new residents. These states include Texas, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina.

"The states that you see growing the most for the most part don't have a state income tax or are on their way to getting rid of their tax," Justice said.

Justice said the impact that cutting or eliminating personal income taxes have had on other states is why he is asking the Legislature to cut West Virginia's taxes, adding that he is asking to cut the income taxes by another 5 percent.

"In contrast, states like Illinois, New York and California are losing population because they "are taxing like crazy," Justice said.

Justice said the state's revenues would allow for a personal income tax cut. There is a $400 million budget surplus and over $1 billion in the state's rainy day fund.

"We want the legislators to see all the numbers," he said. "I'm told by all the revenue people this is absolutely as safe as it can possibly be."

As of Thursday, a date had not been set for the legislative special session, but Justice said it could convene in mid-August or later.

"Absolutely we need to reward people and be as aggressively as we possibly can," he said of the propose tax cut.

Besides state income taxes, Justice spoke about the number of West Virginian children in foster care.

"The number of children in state custody right now is the lowest it's been in seven years," he said.

The West Virginia Department of Human Services, Bureau for Social Services announced Thursday as of June 30 this year, there are 5,991 children in state custody with more than half placed in kinship care, marking the first time since March 2017 that figure has dropped below the 6,000 mark. A year ago, there were 6,286 children in state custody as of June 30, 2023, down from a peak of 7,433 in April 2020.

"These positive trends reflect our ongoing commitment to family-centered practices by improving outcomes for children," said Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services. "Through the efforts of our dedicated child welfare staff, who have been instrumental in placing more children in kinship care and reducing the overall number of children in state custody, we are moving closer to our goal of providing stable, supportive environments for all West Virginia children."

Justice also spoke about his recent appearance at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin. Besides spending time with the West Virginia delegation, he spoke with former President Donald Trump and voiced his support for him.

"I wanted to talk about the bottom line of what's going on in this country," Justice said about his speech to the Republican delegations. "I think we've become completely unhinged in this country if Donald Trump does not win."

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com