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Playing It Safe On Tax Relief

Give Delegate Randy Swartzmiller credit for wanting to give all West Virginians who worked hard all their lives a bit of a break. But at the same time, give other legislators and Gov. Jim Justice their due for being prudent with state finances.

During this year’s regular legislative session, lawmakers agreed to phase out state income taxes on Social Security income received by most Mountain State residents. Legislators passed and Justice signed into law a measure that gives the break only to individuals with total annual incomes of $50,000 or less and couples bringing in $100,000 or less. And, instead of going into effect all at once, the change will be phased in. Those eligible will have 35 percent of Social Security payments exempted from state income tax the first year, 65 percent the second and 100 percent the third.

Swartzmiller, D-Hancock, thinks the tax relief ought to be granted to all Social Security recipients, regardless of household income. “I don’t think we should be picking winners and losers,” he explained. “No matter how much you make, you pay Social Security tax all your life. After retirement, you should be exempt from taxation.”

Justice already plans to call the Legislature back into a special session to deal with public school improvement and a few other issues. Swartzmiller has sent the governor a letter asking that the special session also include revisiting the Social Security bill. It should be revised to lift the income limits, the Hancock county lawmaker believes.

Obviously, that would be a good, desirable thing. But, like families who sometimes have to watch their spending to keep finances in order, state leaders need to ensure government spending does not exceed revenue.

Priorities need to be set. Here in West Virginia, there are many needs to be met and not enough money to go around. Still fresh in the memories of some legislators are the recent years when over-optimistic predictions of revenue led them into spending beyond the state’s means — and midyear spending cuts.

Dialing back the Social Security income tax break was in recognition of the very real danger of returning to those times. Prudence, then, dictates that Justice not include the issue in his special session call.

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