Tag: Department of Revenue

Revenue Secretary Hardy Becomes Judge, Pack Takes His Place

Dave Hardy, secretary of the Department of Revenue is stepping down to become the Circuit Court Judge for the 13th Circuit in Kanawha County.

Dave Hardy, secretary of the Department of Revenue is stepping down to become the Circuit Court Judge for the 13th Circuit in Kanawha County.

Gov. Jim Justice announced the appointment Wednesday during his regular press briefing.

Hardy will fill the seat vacated by Judge Joanna Tabit who passed away September 30. Hardy has served as revenue secretary since 2017.

Hardy also serves as the governor’s designee on the Municipal Home Rule, Investment Management, and the Board of Treasury Investment boards.

Justice said after years of balancing the budget, Hardy’s years in public service makes him the best candidate for the position. 

“I don’t know how you could possibly put a person in a position like this, that has more experience than Dave,” Justice said.

According to a press release, Hardy has more than 33 years of experience in private legal practice and is also a certified public accountant. He served as a member of the Charleston City Council from 1995 to 2001 and as a commissioner on the Kanawha County Commission from 2001 to 2017.

Former Del. Larry Pack will take on the role of Acting Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Revenue to replace Hardy. After leaving the House, Pack took on the role of senior advisor to the governor in 2022.

“Larry is a proven leader with a deep understanding of our state’s finances and a commitment to fiscal responsibility,” Justice said. “His business acumen and knowledge of the tax code will be invaluable in leading the Department of Revenue and I am confident that he will work tirelessly to ensure that West Virginia remains on the pathway to prosperity.”

West Virginia Senate Report: October Revenues $3.3 Million Below Estimates

Updated Friday, November 1, 2019 at 2:47 p.m.

State budget revenues again came in under estimates for the month of October. The latest numbers continue a downward trend that has state officials preparing for budget cuts.

A preliminary report from the West Virginia Senate’s Finance Committee says state revenue collections were down $3.3 million in October.

 

The report says personal income, consumer sales and severance taxes were all below estimates. 

Now four months into the fiscal year, the state is more than $33 million behind year-to-date estimates. 

Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy last week warned of up to $100 million in budget cuts for the current and upcoming fiscal years. He attributed the downturn in revenue to volatility in severance tax collections from natural gas.

 

W.Va. Revenue Continues to Be Ahead of Estimates

For the first time in five years, West Virginia revenue collections are reported to be above estimates at the fiscal year halfway mark.

State revenue officials say West Virginia’s overall cumulative collections in the General Revenue Fund are over $100 million ahead of where the state was this time last year. And the state is above estimates at the fiscal year halfway mark for the first time since December 2012.

State Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy said numbers in the last three months have been encouraging, and he’s “cautiously optimistic” the trend will continue upward.

The General Revenue Fund went up nearly $370 million in December – that’s almost 12 percent higher than last year. Personal Income Tax exceeded estimates by $21.5 million.  

December did see some shortfalls in Consumer Sales and Use tax, Severance, B&O, and tobacco taxes. State Road Fund collections for last month were nearly $45 million and 15 percent higher than December 2016.

Hardy said he anticipates there will be an uptick in severance tax in the upcoming winter months due to the high volume of heat use in homes.

Editor’s Note: Headline was revised for clarity. 

West Virginia Tax Receipts Up 5.3 Percent from Last Year

West Virginia tax collections of $1.3 billion so far this fiscal year are 5.3 percent higher than last year, with October receipts nearing $354 million, both very close to budget projections, state officials reported Monday.

Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy said the four-month results indicate the state won ‘t need to make midyear budget cuts like it did last year.

“As we move forward, of course we have two-thirds of the fiscal year left, I think big picture we improve greatly from last year,” Hardy said. “But we ‘re always performing a balancing act and we ‘re watching the finances literally day by day.”

The increases partly reflect more severance taxes collected on production of natural gas, coal and oil from a year ago that were 37 percent higher, Hardy said.

October showed higher personal income tax collections of $156 million, including five percent higher payroll withholdings, Deputy Secretary Mark Muchow said. Other state data showed non-farm employment for September totaled 746,800 workers, up about 3,000 from a year earlier, concentrated in mining and logging, with some growth in health care, education and construction, he said.

October ‘s State Road Fund collections, boosted by higher gasoline taxes and motor vehicle fees enacted earlier this year to help fund more road projects, were $86.6 million for October, up $19.2 million above the budget estimate. They totaled $276.5 million for the four months, or $4.6 million above estimates.

Severance tax collections, estimated to increase to $361 million for the entire fiscal year, were $24.3 million for October and $80.7 million for the four months.

Tax officials said one possible concern going forward would be weakness in natural gas prices and consequently in those tax receipts.

February State Tax Collections Exceed Estimates

In a press call Monday, officials from the state Department of Revenue said February marks the first time this fiscal year that the state’s brought in more money than estimated.

February’s tax collections exceeded estimates for the month, but total revenue collections are still lower than those of last year.

Department of Revenue Cabinet Secretary Dave Hardy said that means the state’s 2017 budget gap remains at the $123 million his office estimated in January. Last week, Gov. Jim Justice announced he would sweep one time monies located in state agency accounts rather than use the Rainy Day Fund to close that gap.

If the fund falls below 15 percent of the general fund budget, it’s possible the state’s bond rating could be downgraded by national rating agencies. The bond rating is like the state’s credit score; another downgrade would negatively affect the state’s ability to borrow money.  

“We are trying very hard to make it to June 30, 2017, by not using the rainy day fund to fill this gap, and therefore not going below the 15 percent number that’s so important to the bond rating agency,” Hardy said.

Sales tax revenue for February increased by about 1 percent from February of last year. Personal income tax revenue fell almost 14 percent from last year. 

W. Va. is Enduring a Budget Crisis Like that of the Great Depression

In a conference call with the press on Friday, Department of Revenue Cabinet Secretary Dave Hardy said West Virginia revenue collections for the month of January came in about $18M short of state estimates. 

In other words, he said the state essentially took about an 8 percent pay cut. 

 
“Most of it is caused by the drop in energy prices. But we also had a downturn in some of our other industries,” he explained.  

 
The consumer sales tax was the largest source of the drop in revenue, followed by the personal income tax.

 
7 out of 12 months into the fiscal year, the state is $116 million short of revenue estimates. But Hardy predicts that will grow to as much as $123 million before the end of the fiscal year in July.

 
Hardy says will lawmakers return to Charleston for their annual legislative session next week, they’ll have to quickly find money to fill this year’s budget gap before they can move on to balancing the 2018 budget.

 
That budget could have a revenue gap as large as $600 million.

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