SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24
(By Senators Grubb, Wehrle and Walker)
Directing the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to make
a study of the overall nature of state tax policy in West
Virginia, focusing on historical developments, recent
changes and comparisons to other states.
Whereas, Tax revenues are necessary to pay for the important
services provided by state government; and
Whereas, The types of taxes utilized to raise the necessary
revenues can have varying effects on different groups of
taxpayers; and
Whereas, A fundamental tenet of a fair and equitable tax
system is that it should, to the maximum extent possible, be
based on ability to pay; and
Whereas, Adam Smith once wrote that citizens "ought to
contribute toward the support of government as nearly as possible
in proportion to their respective abilities"; and
Whereas, In the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-four,
the state of West Virginia's system of taxation was one of the
most progressive in the nation; and
Whereas, In the six years subsequent to that year the state
of West Virginia led the nation in shifting its tax burden from
the wealthy to the middle class and was sixth in the nation in
shifting its tax burden from the wealthy to the poor; and
Whereas, During the same six-year period West Virginia
families whose income ranked in the top one percent witnessed a
nine percent decrease in their tax burden, while those in the
lowest twenty percent saw their tax share increase by six percent
and those in the middle twenty percent experienced a whopping
thirteen percent increase; and
Whereas, West Virginia is one of only six states where sales
and excise taxes take more than ten percent of the total income
of poor families; and
Whereas, Recent public policy decisions, ranging from the
imposition of a sales tax on food and the establishment of
ineffective super tax credits to a decrease in the marginal tax
rate on incomes above one hundred thousand dollars per year and
an increase in the gasoline excise tax, have been the cause of
West Virginia's transfer in tax burden from the wealthy to the
poor and middle class; and
Whereas, The recent economic recession and the decade-long
shift in funding responsibility from the federal government to
state and local governments have compounded the problems
confronting West Virginia in developing a fair and equitable tax
system; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby
directed to review, examine and study the state's tax system with
special emphasis on methods to improve its overall fairness and
equity; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the said Joint Committee onGovernment and Finance report to the regular session of the
Legislature, 1994, on its findings, conclusions and
recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation
necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct
this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary
legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint
Committee on Government and Finance.