"Patrick Morrisey" by Gage Skidmore licensed under CC
On Tuesday, the major party candidates in West Virginia’s gubernatorial race, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) and Steve Williams (D), faced off in a debate. One thing has become clear in the aftermath: Patrick Morrisey has a plan to put money back in the pockets of hard-working West Virginian’s and boost the states already growing economy.
Hot off the trails of current Governor Jim Justice’s 2% income tax cut and another 5% cut earlier this year after revenue trigger legislation kicked in, both gubernatorial candidates were asked their thoughts on a further tax cut.
While the Democratic nominee danced around the question, Morrisey came out blazing with a strong plan to slash taxes, with the goal of making West Virginia the most economically prosperous state in the region.
“On day one of a Morrisey administration, we’re actually going to lay down every single tax that West Virginia currently has….and we’re going to compare it with every single state that we touch,” said Morrisey on stage at Fairmont University. “Then the first order is to actually try to take steps to start to defeat the other states economically, to have superior tax policy.”
Arguably the most important metric on which states have been competing is the income tax. With a 5.12% top rate, West Virginia is far behind most of the states on its border. Ohio, with a 3.5% rate already, has House and Senate leadership that are hoping to go to zero, just as Morrisey hopes to do in West Virginia. Pennsylvania is at a 3.07% flat rate. And Kentucky, already at a flat 4%, has an ambitious revenue trigger in place that will take the state to zero, possibly by the end of the decade.
It’s clear that Morrisey recognizes the need for West Virginia to keep up with those nearby states and match nearby Tennessee, which levies no income tax at all.
Morrisey also recognizes that with tax cuts also comes the need for responsible spending and a balanced budget, noting on “Talk of the Town” WAJR radio that “we have to find the savings we need to pay for it, so I think it’s critical that you identify the ways that we’re going to rightsize government.”
With his strong commitment to taking the income tax rate to zero and identifying other uncompetitive taxes that need cutting, it’s clear that Attorney General Morrisey understands the needs of the West Virginian people he hopes to serve as governor come January. Cutting the income tax boosts West Virginia’s economy by returning dollars to the private sector, while also attracting new businesses and job seekers looking to flee from other states with higher tax burdens.
West Virginia voters should keep the two candidate’s contrasting views on the income tax in mind when they head to the polls this November.
