FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 19, 2026
Time Requested: 04:23 PM |
| Agency: |
Tax & Revenue Department, WV State |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1479 |
Introduced |
SB508 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Taxation |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
General Revenue Fund
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Decreases Existing Revenue, Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The stated purpose of this bill is to create a tax credit for businesses to cover up to 50 percent of the costs of the purchase of products that are produced or manufactured in West Virginia.
This bill would allow a tax credit of up to 50 percent of the costs of the purchase of products that are produced or manufactured in West Virginia. The business must maintain its corporate headquarters in West Virginia. The proposed credit would be applied to the Business Franchise Tax and then the Corporation net Income Tax. The credit would be capped at $100,000 and may not exceed $10,000 in any given tax year. The bill allows for carry forward of any unused credit. There is no data readily available to allow for a reasonable revenue estimate, however, given the $100,000 cap and the significant number of eligible businesses in the state, the revenue loss could be substantial.
Additional administrative costs incurred by the Tax Division would be $46,150 in FY2026 and $22,500 in subsequent fiscal years.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
46,150 |
22,500 |
22,500 |
| Personal Services |
22,500 |
22,500 |
22,500 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
1,650 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
22,000 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
This bill would allow a tax credit of up to 50 percent of the costs of the purchase of products that are produced or manufactured in West Virginia. The business must maintain its corporate headquarters in West Virginia. The proposed credit would be applied to the Business Franchise Tax and then the Corporation net Income Tax. The credit would be capped at $100,000 and may not exceed $10,000 in any given tax year. The bill allows for carry forward of any unused credit. There is no data readily available to allow for a reasonable revenue estimate, however, given the $100,000 cap and the significant number of eligible businesses in the state, the revenue loss could be substantial.
Additional administrative costs incurred by the Tax Division would be $46,150 in FY2026 and $22,500 in subsequent fiscal years.
Memorandum
The stated purpose of this bill is to create a tax credit for businesses to cover up to 50 percent of the costs of the purchase of products that are produced or manufactured in West Virginia.
The bill fails to note whether the $100,000 cap imposed by subsection (b) is an aggregate statewide cap or a per-taxpayer cap. Further it fails to specify if this is an annual cap or a lifetime/program cap. This has implications for the language used later in the bill. A statewide, annual cap, effectively makes the program a “first-come, first-served” pilot. If this is a per-taxpayer, lifetime cap, the fiscal impact is open-ended. The conflict with subsection (g) - which limits annual usage to $10,000 - further obscures the intent. If the $100,000 is a lifetime cap per taxpayer, it would take a taxpayer 10 years to fully utilize the credit.
The bill attempts to allow the credit against the “taxes imposed upon the eligible taxpayer by article twenty-three of this chapter” (Business Franchise Tax). However, the Business Franchise Tax has been eliminated.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Mark Muchow
Email Address: RADfiscal@wv.gov