H. B. 2410
(By Delegates Pino, Cann and Brown)
[Introduced
February 16, 2005
; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §18-21-1 and
§18-21-2, all relating to exempting start-up businesses
founded by West Virginia college or university graduates from
various state, county and municipal taxes for the first three
years of operation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §18-21-1 and §18-21-2,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. WEST VIRGINIA COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY GRADUATE
INCENTIVE PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE IN-STATE CREATION
OF BUSINESSES.
§18-21-1. Legislative purpose.
The Legislature finds that West Virginia falls short from national averages for the percentage of state residents engaged in
entrepreneurial activity. Further, recent evidence indicates that
a high percentage of West Virginia youth planning to attend an
institution of higher learning, plan to do so out-of-state.
Finally, the Legislature finds that these adverse phenomena of lack
of entrepreneurial activity and a majority of in-state youth
planning to go out-of-state for higher learning can best and most
cost-efficiently be addressed by creative tax policy that creates
incentives to both, engage in entrepreneurial activity and attend
and graduate from an in-state institution of higher learning.
§18-21-2. Tax incentives for West Virginia graduates of higher
learning conducting state-based private businesses.
Any resident who graduates from a state sanctioned institution
of higher education and who engages in any lawful business activity
as a sole proprietorship, for the first three years of operation,
is exempt from the payment of business-related personal income tax,
capital gains tax, or any municipal, county or state business and
occupation tax. Any resident who graduates from a state sanctioned
institution of higher education and who is a stockholder and
officer of a corporation, or general partner in a partnership, or
partner in a limited liability company shall be exempt from any
business related corporate, partnership or limited liability
company taxes, capital gains tax, or any municipal, county or state
business and occupation tax to the extent of their proportionate share in the interests in the corporation, partnership or limited
liability company for the first three years they are involved with
the business entity.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt start-up
businesses founded by West Virginia college or university graduates
from various state, county and municipal taxes for the first three
years of operation.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.