A plan that would grant $25,000 in tax credits to former residents who return to the state to work was approved by the West Virginia Senate on Monday.
The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate and then forwarded to the House of Delegates.
Cash Plus Free Passes in West Virginia
People need to have lived and worked in West Virginia for at least 10 years or be natives of the state to qualify for the tax credit. Prior to 2023, they had to have spent at least 10 years continuously living outside of the state.
Leftover credit amounts may be carried over to subsequent tax years. In 2029, the credit would run out. In recent years, state officials have experimented with additional economic inducements in an effort to boost West Virginia’s declining population.
To entice remote workers to relocate to particular regions of the state, the Department of Tourism is giving $12,000 in cash as well as free permits for a variety of outdoor excursions.
More citizens left West Virginia than any other state between 2010 and 2020, when the population fell by 3.2 percent, or nearly 59,000 people.
West Virginia is currently the only state having fewer residents than it did in 1950 because of long-term reductions in coal, steel, and other industries.
Meanwhile, West Virginia’s Republican Senate leaders responded to the clamor for a sharp reduction in the state personal income tax by voting to cut the rate by 15%, giving residents back roughly $600 million. The sum is greater than half of the excess in the state budget.
Measure Is Led By The Ukraine War
The measure was quickly advanced to a unanimous “yes” vote the same day after being announced by GOP Senate leaders on Wednesday.
They characterized it as a safer, more cautious approach to tax reduction than the plan put forth by Republican Governor Jim Justice and accepted by the West Virginia House of Delegates last month.
According to that legislation, the personal income tax would be reduced by 30% in the first year and by 10% each of the following two years. A tax on coal, natural gas, and oil extraction helped the state’s budget surplus reach $1.3 billion at the conclusion of the previous fiscal year in July as rising energy costs, driven by the conflict in Ukraine, filled government coffers.
Government officials have stated that they anticipate the revenue to keep rising. Energy-related revenue is far from certain, according to opponents of the planned tax cuts, who point out that such receipts can be “extremely volatile.”
Despite the state’s $1 billion present surplus, the proposed plan would return nearly $600 million to taxpayers.
Given that the leadership of the House has endorsed Justice’s more substantial tax cuts, it is uncertain how the idea will be greeted there. On proposals for tax cuts, Justice and the Senate GOP leaders have been at odds for almost two years.
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