5/3/2022
| Record $253 million monthly surplus raises YTD surplus to unprecedented $993 million through April CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice announced today that West Virginia’s General Revenue collections for April 2022 came in at $253 million over estimate, the all-time state record surplus for any single month in West Virginia history. “This is one of the most momentous economic announcements in the history of our state,” Gov. Justice said. “West Virginia is approaching its 159th birthday – that’s over 1,900 months in state history – and we’ve never, ever had a single-month surplus this high. “It’s beyond amazing. It’s breathtaking just how good this is,” Gov. Justice continued. “The rocket ship ride is reaching speeds even the most optimistic of us maybe never even dreamed of. Over the past few months, we’ve set so many all-time state records between revenue, jobs, and more, it would be easy to lose track. But this one is worth us taking a step back to admire.” April 2022 collections of $791.5 million were a whopping 46.6% ahead of prior year receipts. Ten months through Fiscal Year 2022, year-to-date collections of more than $4.758 billion are $993 million above the YTD estimate; breaking the all-time state record for total surplus through the month of April. “To put our total numbers for the year into perspective, think about this: our Rainy Day Fund was established in the early 1990’s. After 30 years of effort, we’ve just got it to the point where it’s right at $1 billion,” Gov. Justice said. “This announcement today means that our year-to-date revenue surplus, just 10 months into this fiscal year, has equaled what has taken three decades to build in the Rainy Day Fund. “This record isn’t a one-off. 2022 has been the year of economic records in West Virginia,” Gov. Justice added. YTD collections are 18.9% ahead of where they were last April. April saw additional state records broken for personal income tax collections. Personal income tax collections totaled a record $448.5 million, 86.1% above last April. Monthly collections exceeded estimates by roughly $150 million. YTD collections of roughly $2.089 billion were a record $394.9 million above estimate and 14.2% ahead of prior year. Severance tax collections totaled $54.8 million. Collections were $29.1 million above estimate and 88.4% ahead of last year. YTD general revenue fund severance tax collections were $295.8 million above estimate and $360.7 million ahead of last year. YTD general revenue fund severance tax collections were 185.5% ahead of last year. Corporation net income tax collections of $89.4 million were $52.4 million above estimate and 41.2% ahead of last year. YTD CNIT was $154 million above estimate and 46.9% ahead of prior year adjusted receipts. Consumer sales tax receipts of $122.7 million were $14.2 million above estimate. YTD collections were $125.9 million above estimate and 8.3% ahead of prior year. Insurance premium tax collections were $4.5 million above estimate and 13.3% ahead of prior year. YTD collections of $133.3 million were $7.7 million above estimate and 14.1% above prior year. Click here to read monthly revenue and cash flow reports from the West Virginia State Budget OfficeUnder Gov. Justice’s leadership, West Virginia continues to enjoy an unprecedented era of success and prosperity. After inheriting a $500 million budget deficit, Gov. Justice has led the state to a string of consistent budget surpluses by using his lifelong experience as a businessman to make West Virginia a more business-friendly state and by standing behind the energy industry. At the same time, West Virginia has achieved record-low unemployment rates. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.7% for March 2022, breaking the all-time record for the lowest unemployment rate recorded in West Virginia history for the 6th consecutive month. West Virginia is finally competing on the world stage and recruiting world-class companies to our state as shown in several major economic development announcements this year. Nucor Corporation announced that they selected Mason County as the location for a state-of-the-art sheet steel mill. This record investment will exceed $2.7 billion, making it the largest in West Virginia history, as well as the largest single investment Nucor has ever made. GreenPower Motor Company announced an agreement with the state to manufacture zero-emission, all-electric school buses in South Charleston, bringing hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in economic impact to West Virginia. Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 company that provides medical supplies, is going to expand on a deal they previously had with WVU Medicine and create over 125 jobs at a healthcare products preparedness and supply center in Morgantown. Omnis Building Technologies will build a $40 million, 150,000-square-foot facility in Bluefield to manufacture housing materials that will revolutionize the future of residential construction, creating 150-300 jobs in the process. Klöckner Pentaplast has announced a multimillion-dollar expansion of their West Virginia facility. Additionally, PepsiCo is building a pair of new distribution facilities this year, representing a combined $32.5 million investment, while providing 185 jobs in West Virginia. Gov. Justice also recently announced that West Virginia reached the 2nd-highest export growth rate of any state in the nation for 2021. Meanwhile, the Governor’s Roads To Prosperity program is the state’s largest-ever investment in road maintenance and improvement; after 50 years of neglecting its roads, the state has committed more than $2 billion dollars to fixing them. Teachers and state employees have received their two largest pay raises ever, and a third pay raise has been proposed. The state’s Rainy Day Fund now exceeds $1 billion – another record – and its public pension funds are better-funded than they have been in decades. Thanks to Gov. Justice, Veterans now live in West Virginia tax-free and senior citizens do not face state taxes on social security. The Governor has also led West Virginia through a once-in-a-century pandemic, protecting the state’s most vulnerable citizens. People are more excited than ever to be in West Virginia. From April 2010 to July 2019, more than 43,000 people moved out of the state. However, from 2020 through 2021, net migration is up in West Virginia for the first time in decades, with over 2,000 people moving into our state, making West Virginia one of the top states in the entire nation that people are moving into on a percentage basis. Increased investments in the state’s tourism efforts have visitation and intrigue in West Virginia through the roof. West Virginia was recently named a top-10 travel region in the world to visit by Lonely Planet; the only state to earn this prestigious distinction and the state was also recently selected as one of the Best Places to Go by Condé Nast Traveler. West Virginia was also recently named as one of CBS’s top destinations for family vacations in 2022. |
