Senate Bill No. 251
(By Senators Hunter, Redd, Rowe, Mitchell,
Minard, Ross, Snyder, Kessler and Burnette)
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[Introduced January 18, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
section ten-b, relating to providing a nonrefundable earned
income tax credit from the state personal income tax.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-
b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
PART I. GENERAL.
§11-21-10b. Earned income tax credit.
(a) A taxpayer with a qualifying child or children is allowed a tax credit equal to fifteen percent of the earned
income credit allowed under section thirty-two of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended and in effect for the current taxable
year.
(b) The credit under this section is allowed against the
taxes imposed by this article for the taxable year reduced by
other credits permitted by this article. If the credit exceeds
the tax as so reduced, the commissioner shall disregard the
excess.
(c) In the case of a husband and wife who file their state
tax returns separately, the credit allowed pursuant to this
section may be applied against the tax of either, or divided
between them, as they elect.
(d) The commissioner shall make efforts every year to alert
taxpayers who may be eligible to receive the credit provided
under this section. In making a determination as to whether a
taxpayer may be eligible for the credit, the commissioner shall
use data as may be appropriate and available, including, but not
limited to, data available from the United States department of
treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and state income tax
returns from preceding tax years.
(e) The commissioner shall prepare a written report each
year which shall contain statistical information regarding the credits granted for the prior calendar year. The reports shall
contain, but need not be limited to, the total amount of revenue
expended on the earned income credit; the number of credits
claimed; and the average value of the credits granted to
taxpayers whose earned income falls within various income
ranges. The report shall be forwarded to the joint committee on
government and finance by the first day of September.
(f) This section takes effect for taxable years beginning
on or after the first day of January, two thousand two.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a
nonrefundable earned income tax credit from the state personal
income tax for taxpayers with qualifying children. The earned
income tax credit is equal to 15% of the federal credit.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.