Governor Patrick Morrisey was in Parkersburg, West Virginia this morning to round up support for his push to cut the state’s personal income tax rates by 10 percent.
Speaking to a small crowd of employees at Green’s Supply Depot, Governor Morrisey characterized the tax-cut issue as a battle with neighboring states: “Ohio and Kentucky are lowering their income tax rates and we don’t want to be defeated by Ohio and Kentucky!”
Morrisey also described tax relief as a tool for addressing affordability and workforce participation, saying the “income tax is immoral — it’s a block to work. We want to incentivize people to work.” At the end of his address, Morrisey encouraged the attendees to contact their state representatives and ask them if they will be supporting his 10% tax cut.
What A 10% Tax Cut Means For Individuals
For 2025, West Virginia has five personal income tax brackets, ranging from 2.2% for households reporting less than $10,000 in taxable income up to 4.82% for households reporting more than $60,000 of taxable income. In the Governor’s proposal, a 10 percent cut means a reduction in those tax rates, so the lowest bracket rate would be cut to 2.0% and the highest bracket rate would be cut to 4.34%. The table below shows the annual value of a 10% tax cut for households at various levels of income.
What A 10% Tax Cut Means For The State Budget
The Governor’s executive budget report for fiscal year 2027 (which begins July 1, 2026) estimates that the state will receive $33.8 billion in revenue from all sources including the federal government. Only $5.5 billion of that amount comes from the various taxes collected by the state — also known as general fund revenue. The governor’s projection for state income tax revenue in FY2027 before a tax cut is $2.3 billion (42% of the general fund revenue and slightly less than 7% of the overall budget).
In a presentation earlier this month to the Senate Finance Committee, WV’s Secretary of Revenue Eric Nelson provided estimates on how a tax cut would affect the budget. According to Nelson, a 5% cut would reduce state revenues by $125 million and a 10% cut would reduce revenues by $250 million.
According to the Governor’s budget report, the top three line items in the $5.5 billion general fund budget are $2.4 billion for funding local K-12 schools, $1 billion for the Human Services Department, and $500 million for funding higher education. The governor’s report also highlights several significant increases in general fund expenditures for FY 2027: $125 million to fund expansion of the HOPE scholarship program, $78 million for state employee pay raises, and $35 million for expected health insurance cost increases.
Lots of Debate Ahead
The Senate and House of Delegates will be debating the budget in committee over the next several weeks. The final budget bill is typically not resolved until the final week of the legislative session in March.