The Senate Committee on Finance convened for a Budget Presentation 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 10.
Mark Muchow, deputy secretary of revenue, updated committee members on the past fiscal year and presented a forecast for the approaching months.
Muchow said that since 2016, the state’s economy has seen growth which can be accounted to major pipeline investments, the Governor’s Road to Prosperity Program, a general revenue growth of 1.5 percent in the first part of the 2019 fiscal year and a 20% total increase in coal production since 2016.
As the national employment rate is predicted to rise by 4.9 percent, Muchow said that the state’s employment rate will rise by 2.2 percent despite above average employment growth in the construction sector. Muchow said that demographics continue to hinder WV’s workforce.
In addition to a rise in WV’s employment, Muchow said that wages within the state will approach the national average following a decline in 2018.
In the presentation Muchow also said that personal income taxes will see an average annual growth of 9.1 percent from 2018-2024 while consumers sales tax will experience an average annual growth of 3.5 percent from 2018-2024.
Muchow’s final baseline forecast predicted a good fiscal year for 2019 which could see a slowdown in economic growth and a possible recession in 2020 following a slowdown in the state’s oil and natural gas industries.
Despite a possible recession, Muchow said that the state grew 3-4 percent in coal production while production in surrounding states declined. Muchow said a surge in state exports, such as coal, help money build up and improve economic growth.
