West Virginia’s leaders and economic development officials love to talk about all the reasons why people would want to move here: quality of life, proximity to the nation’s population centers, low labor costs, and property taxes lower than our neighbors, to name a few. But one area where we consistently fall short is with how we tax income.

Consider: when compared to the five states bordering West Virginia, the Mountain State has the highest overall personal income tax rate.

That’s not a recipe for growth.

Gov. Jim Justice has for the past several years pushed for an income tax cut for residents, citing states such as Florida, Texas and Tennessee, where personal income tax has been eliminated and growth has followed, as models West Virginia should emulate. The Legislature has been hesitant to agree with the governor, and nothing has been done.

That must change this legislative session.

Justice, during his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, urged lawmakers to enact legislation he will introduce calling for a 50% reduction in personal income taxes, to be phased in over three years — 30% for first year and 10% the following two years. The move is expected to return about $1.2 billion to taxpayers and will result in West Virginia having the lowest personal income tax rate among its neighbor states.

The state currently is projecting a budget surplus at the end of this fiscal year of $1.8 billion. It makes financial sense for this to happen now.

“Think of the dollars you’ll be putting in your pocket,” Justice said of the money returned by the tax cut. “You’ll spend those dollars, and that helps us, too. The multiplier effect on those dollars is off the chart.”

“We are going to be lower than all the states surrounding us, again, creating an incentive for people to move into West Virginia and avail themselves of the financial success of the proposal we have here,” Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy added.

When you’re sitting on a potential surplus of taxpayer funds nearing $2 billion, giving it back to those who supplied it shouldn’t be in question.

The time is now for bold ideas that will propel the state forward. Reducing the personal income tax is an important step in making that happen.