Ashton Marra Published

W.Va. Tax Collections Fall Short of August Estimates

Department of Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss.
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West Virginia revenue officials say tax collections in August improved over the previous month, but are still below estimates. 

State Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss said August marked the second month in a row this fiscal year that state tax collections fell short of estimates. 

August revenues were more than $16 million  below projections. In July, collections were more than $33 million short of estimates.

Kiss said while his office is “hopefully optimistic” collections will improve during the next several months, it will take looking at the final income numbers in September and possibly October before his office can determine if the state can handle the deficit.

If not, Kiss said he has every reason to believe Gov. Tomblin will take action as he has in the past.

“If there’s one thing that’s in his DNA more than anything else, is he’s committed to having a balanced budget and he certainly is not going to turn over to the next governor an unbalanced one because he’s unwilling to make budget cuts,” he said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

Kiss said Tomblin has cut West Virginia’s base budget by more than $400 million during his time in office.