West Virginia attempts to spur housing construction through tax incentives

MORGANTOWN W.Va. (WBOY) — The West Virginia Department of Economic Development gave a presentation at the Morgantown Area Partnership on Wednesday concerning the Build WV Act, which is meant to provide tax incentives with the goal of encouraging companies to build middle-income residential housing.

Business leaders from the construction, real estate, and baking industries were in attendance to learn about the act and how the north central region of West Virginia, specifically the area within 20 miles of Browns Mill, was one of 16 regions throughout the state selected for this program.

“What happens is when these factories and plants come in and employers in the communities grow and expand, they’re trying to recruit employees,” West Virginia Department of Economic Development’s Manager of Business Development Meghan Smith said.

Smith added that recruiting workers requires the area to have adequate housing, and so the Build WV Act is trying to spur the construction of that housing.

The tax incentives include a sales tax exemption on activities related to constructing approved projects as well as a personal or corporate income tax credit for the projects valued at potentially $100,000 per year.

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