VegetablesResidents of West Virginia will be happy to know that a tax cut on their groceries has been approved and signed by acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. House Bill 2971 was signed and approved on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in the state of West Virginia.

This would mean that the tax imposed on the groceries they buy will be decreased again. For instance, every dollar spent on food will have a 2 percent tax instead of the 3 percent tax that was previously implemented.

It can be recalled that the state has undergone a series of tax reductions in the last six years. This newly signed grocery tax cut will be the latest in the reductions made on the sales tax of food.

Acting Governor Tomblin has made this recent grocery tax cut the focus of his legislative list of items for the current year. According to the acting Governor, the said tax reduction will allow consumers of West Virginia to save a total of about $26 million a year, thus helping them cope with the recent economic crisis that the country has been having. He also added that in the last six years, the state of West Virginia has given an accumulated total of $100 million worth of tax reduction on food, thus relieving its citizens of some of their financial burdens on buying food items.

The tax reduction proposal did not go without opposition though. Before it was signed, members of the House of Delegates opposed the proposal. Representative Rick Thompson, House Speaker, wanted for a total elimination of the grocery tax. He was supported by other representatives of the Republican minority who also wanted to have the grocery tax eliminated.