May 3rd, 2022 by WCBC Radio

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.