2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 11. Taxation › Article 13II. The High-Wage Growth Business Tax Credit Act › §11-13II-3. High-Wage Growth Business Tax Credit

(a) The Development Office may authorize no more than $5 million of the tax credits allowed under this article during any fiscal year and the total amount of tax credit that may be awarded or used in any taxable year by any qualified taxpayer in combination with the owners of the qualified taxpayer may not exceed more than 10 percent of the salaries for the new direct jobs. Depending on the nature of the anticipated benefits to the state, the Development Office may establish a tax credit at a level less than the maximum. Nothing in this article entitles a qualified employer to receive a tax credit under this article and the Development Office has full discretion, subject to annual or ad hoc review, in determining whether and the amount to which to award a tax credit.
(b) A taxpayer that is an eligible employer seeking to obtain a tax credit shall make an application to the Development Office prior to the taxable year in which the eligible employer is seeking the credit. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the Development Office and shall contain such information as may be required by the Development Office to determine if the applicant is qualified. The application shall contain a sworn statement by a duly authorized officer of the employer listing the names of persons or other entities who have received or who will receive any payment or other consideration from the employer for the purpose of representing the employer in applying for or receiving the benefits provided for in this article and shall include a certificate of good standing from the State Tax Department.
(c) The employer shall certify that during the eligible employers tax year and that at the end of the eligible employers tax year it will meet or exceed all of the requirements established in 11-13II-4 of this code;
(d) After the filing of an application by an eligible employer, the Development Office shall undertake an analysis and determine whether, the extent to which, and the conditions upon which an eligible employer may obtain a tax credit if it fulfills the commitments made in the eligible employers application. In considering whether to approve the eligible employers application for a tax credit, the Development Office shall consider the following factors:
(1) The significance of the eligible employers need for the tax credit;
(2) The amount of projected net fiscal benefit to the state of the project and the period in which the state would realize such net fiscal benefit;
(3) The overall size and quality of the proposed project, including the number of new jobs, proposed wages, growth potential of the qualified company, the potential multiplier effect of the project, and similar factors;
(4) The financial stability and creditworthiness of the eligible employer;
(5) The level of economic distress in the area;
(6) An evaluation of the competitiveness of alternative locations for the location of the eligible employer, as applicable;
(7) Whether other state incentives are available and have been awarded to the eligible employer; and
(8) The amount of local incentives committed.
(e) The Development Office may authorize the continued ability to receive the tax credit as long as the employer retains its eligibility by maintaining the number of new direct jobs in successive years, as provided under this article, not to exceed five years.
(f) A qualified employer that has qualified pursuant to this article is eligible to receive tax credits under this article only in accordance with the provisions under which it initially applied and was approved. If a qualified employer that is receiving tax credits and creates new direct jobs, it may apply for additional tax credits based on the new direct jobs anticipated from the expansion only, pursuant to this article.