H. B. 2829
(By Delegates Browning, Petersen, Leach,
Warner, Border, Walters and Leggett)
(Originating in the House Committee on Finance.)
[February 28, 1995]
A BILL to amend chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article thirteen-I, relating
to taxation, establishing a tax credit the employment of those
persons who were staff members employed at the Colin Anderson
facility and lost their job as a result of the closure of such
center; providing definitions; setting effective dates;
setting forth legislative purpose; setting forth the amount of
the credit and the application of the credit; setting
limitations; credit forfeiture; providing for distribution of
notice of the availability of the credit and providing for
legislative rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended, by adding thereto a new
article, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13I. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYING FORMER EMPLOYEES OF COLIN
ANDERSON CENTER WHO LOST THEIR JOBS DUE TO THE
CLOSURE OF COLIN ANDERSON CENTER.
§11-13I-1. Legislative purpose.
The Legislature finds and declares that the Colin Anderson
Center employees were good employees and performed a valuable
service for the residents of the center, and the public comments
regarding the closure of Colin Anderson indicated that the main
objection to the closure was the care which the residents of
Colin Anderson would receive elsewhere. In recognition of the
expertise of these employees and their dedication to their duties
and the people whom they cared for, the Legislature finds that it
is in the best interests of the state to encourage the employment
of those persons who are unemployed as a result of the closing of
the Colin Anderson Center.
§11-13I-2. Credit allowed; amount and duration of credit;
recapture of credit and effective date.
(a) There shall be allowed to eligible taxpayers a credit against the taxes imposed in articles twenty-one, twenty-three
and twenty-four of this chapter. For the purpose of this
article, "eligible taxpayer" means a person, firm, partnership,
corporation or other entity who employs a person or persons who
lost his or her job as a result of the closure of the Colin
Anderson Center. Such credit shall be in an amount equal to one-
half of the cost to the state of unemployment compensation which
shall be determined based on the unemployment compensation cost
to the state of an employee who earns twenty-one thousand dollars
per year and shall be further determined as if such person was
unemployed for and drew a full sixteen weeks of unemployment
benefits. In the event an eligible taxpayer employs more than
one such person, the credit allowed shall be multiplied by the
number of persons so employed.
(b) The credit set forth in this article shall apply to
personal income tax liabilities, corporation net income tax
liabilities and business franchise tax liabilities arising after
the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-five. The credit established in this article shall expire
and may not be claimed for those tax years ending after the
thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
eight and in order to claim this credit an eligible taxpayer shall have employed a person who lost his or her job after
December 31, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five as a result of
the closing of Colin Anderson Center and must be employed after
said date and prior to December thirty-one, one thousand nine
hundred ninety seven.
(c) As a condition of receiving the credit established in
this article, the eligible taxpayer shall employ the person or
persons for a period of time at least equal to one year. In the
event such person is employed for less than one year the credit
herein shall be recaptured at the rate of twenty percent of the
dollar value of the credit for each month under twelve months the
person works.
§11-13I-3. Application of credit; limitation of credit; tax
commissioner to promulgate forms and legislative
rule; notice of credit.
(a) The credit allowed in this article shall be first
applied to a taxpayer's business franchise tax liability, and
then to either the taxpayer's personal income tax liability or
corporation net income tax liability, as the case may be.
(b) The credit allowed in this article shall not exceed ten
thousand dollars per year and shall not be refundable, nor
carried forward nor backward to other tax years.
(c) The state tax commissioner shall promulgate legislative
rules pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding
the applicability, method of claiming of the credit, recapture of
the credit and documentation necessary to claim the credit herein
allowed.
(d) The state tax commissioner shall develop a written
notice setting forth the availability of this credit and shall
transmit this notice to the department of health and human
resources to be distributed to potential employers of the Colin
Anderson Center to make such employers aware of the tax credit
allowed herein. The department of health and human resources
shall distribute notice of the credit allowed herein as widely as
possible to potential employers.