CHARLESTON – While down from the two previous fiscal years, West Virginia still ended fiscal year 2024 with more than four-fifths of $1 billion in surplus tax collections for Gov. Jim Justice’s final six months in office.

According to the monthly tax revenue report released Monday by the Senate Finance Committee, the state ended fiscal year 2024 on Sunday with more than $5.7 billion in tax collections for the general revenue fund, which was 16.9% more than the $4.9 billion estimate set by the state Department of Revenue.

As a result of end-of-fiscal-year tax collections, the state has more than $826.5 million in surplus tax collections, or 3% more than the $800 million in surplus tax collections that state revenue officials predicted. Justice held an event Monday afternoon at the Culture Center to celebrate more than $3.7 billion in surplus tax collections during his two four-year terms as governor.

“From an economic standpoint and lots of other things, I really believe…that West Virginia has been blessed with a miracle from God,” Justice said. “With all in us, we should celebrate today beyond belief…We’ve got another surplus of numbers that are un-flat-believable in every way.”

With more than a year and a half since the state’s 21.25% personal income tax cut went into effect, the state ended fiscal year 2024 with $2.2 billion in personal income tax collections, or 11.8% more than the $2 billion revenue estimate. The $235.7 million in surplus personal income tax collections made up 28% of the state’s end-of-fiscal-year surplus.

Due to the personal income tax cut, collections were down 15.9% compared to the previous fiscal year but were ahead of estimates for fiscal year 2024 by 11.8%. June personal income tax collections of $236.3 million were 28.8% ahead of the $183.5 million revenue estimate, providing the state a $52.8 million surplus for June.

Corporate net income tax collections for fiscal year 2024 of $465.5 million were 121.7% more than the $210 million revenue estimate, providing the state with a $255.5 million surplus. June corporate net income tax collections of $62.9 million were 84.9% more than the $34 million revenue estimate, providing a $28.9 million surplus for the month.

The last four years of Justice’s time as governor have been marked with record-breaking surplus tax collections, including more than $1.8 billion this time last year, and more than $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2022. The surpluses are due in part to natural growth in tax revenue, higher prices for coal and natural gas, federal COVID-19 relief dollars helping to free up state tax dollars for other purposes, and artificially low official revenue estimates.

That’s a long way from the state ending fiscal year 2017 – five months into Justice’s first year in office, in the hole by $120.7 million compared to original estimates, requiring mid-year budget cuts and use of the state’s Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget as required by law.

“In all honesty, on day one if we would have had $82,060 it would have been an absolute blessing,” Justice said.

At one point, the Justice administration predicted a nearly $500 million revenue hole going into fiscal year 2018, setting off a fight between Justice and the Legislature that led to the budget for FY18 being passed weeks before the end of the fiscal year and going into effect without Justice’s signature.

By the time the books closed on fiscal year 2017, the state was only in the hole by $20.9 million according to records from the State Budget Office. The state was able to end fiscal year 2018 the following year with more than $20.2 million.

The state saw a large tax revenue shortfall in fiscal year 2020 after Justice moved the state’s income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15 during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic following the temporary closure of non-essential businesses and services to slow the spread of the virus. The state also borrowed money from the Rainy Day Fund and asked departments to reduce their spending authority to close a $198 million hole at the end of that fiscal year.

Fiscal year 2024 severance tax collections for coal, natural gas, and timber were also a bright spot, with $368.9 million in collections. That was 17.9% more than the $313 million revenue estimate, providing the state with $55.8 million in surplus. Consumer sales and use tax collections also came in above water, with $1.8 billion in collections, or 3% more than the more than $1.7 billion estimate, for a $52.8 million surplus for the fiscal year.