(AP) — West Virginians would pay a higher sales tax next year, but their income tax rates would be reduced and might eventually be eliminated, under a bill approved Wednesday by the state Senate. Under the proposal, which met a chilly reception in the state House, the state sales tax would rise from 6 percent to 7.25 percent. The amended bill, approved 18-13 by the chamber's Republican majority, would also end state income taxes on military pensions and Social Security benefits, similar to the tax bill recently passed by the House. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Hall, whose committee advanced the bill and who voted for it, said he was "somewhat ambivalent" about it and the risk of worse future budget deficits in the effort to stimulate the economy.