H. B. 3139


(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced March 30, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact section ten-a, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the West Virginia code specifying that credit taken in any tax year shall not exceed the personal income tax liability for that tax year; specifying that if any credit allowable under the said section remains after application in the year of a qualifying nonfamily adoption and the next succeeding two taxable years, the amount thereof shall be forfeited; specifying no carryover of credit to a tax year subsequent to the second tax year after the year of a qualifying nonfamily adoption, and no carryback to any tax year shall be allowed for any unused portion of credit allowed under the said section, to read as follows:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten-a, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
PART I. GENERAL.

ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
§11-21-10a. Credit for nonfamily adoption.
(a) A one time credit against the tax imposed by the provisions of this article shall be allowed as follows:
(1) Nonfamily adoptions. -- For nonfamily adoptions, the credit is equal to two thousand dollars which may be taken in the year of the adoption of each nonfamily child, whose age at adoption is under eighteen years. This credit may, at the option of the taxpayer, be taken over a period of three years.
(b) For the purpose of this section and credit "nonfamily adoptions" means adoptions of a child or children by a taxpayer or taxpayers which child or children are not related to the taxpayer or taxpayers by blood or marriage.
(c) The total credit taken by any taxpayer in any taxable year under this section may not exceed the taxpayer's personal income tax liability for that tax year. If any credit allowable under this section remains after application in the year of the qualifying nonfamily adoption giving rise to entitlement to the credit and the next succeeding two taxable years, the amount thereof shall be forfeited. No carryover to a taxable year subsequent to the second taxable year after the year of a qualifying nonfamily adoption shall be allowed for any unused portion of the credit allowed under this section. No carryback to any taxable year shall be allowed for the amount of any unused portion of any credit allowed under this section.
(d) Effective date. -- The amendments to this section enacted in the year two thousand one are effective for and apply to tax credit resulting from qualifying nonfamily adoptions occurring in taxable years beginning after the thirty-first day of December, two thousand.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the nonfamily adoption tax credit in any tax year to not exceed the personal income tax liability of the claimant(s) for the tax year, to expressly specify that credit unused after the three-year application period is forfeited, limit credit carryover and prohibit credit carryback.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.