According to an AP report, halfway through its budget year, West Virginia has resumed its course toward a modest general revenue surplus in December after a brief rough patch for tax collections. Last month the state took in $336 million, or $28.7 million more than expected. That helped put state government $56 million above its revenue goal for the budget year, which ends June 30. Muchow credits the state's energy sector for much of the good fiscal news. Continuing a trend that's helped buoy the state amid the fragile recovery, Muchow cited coal prices and the strong export market for this fossil fuel. Muchow added that natural gas production and increased investments in West Virginia's share of the Marcellus shale field is also playing a role. The severance tax on extracted natural resources bested its December estimate. So did taxes on business equity — the business franchise tax — and corporate net income.
West Virginia expects to raise $4.01 billion from general tax revenues by June 30. It began January with $1.97 billion collected.