West Virginia Offers Coal-Fired Power Plants Tax Break

West Virginia is offering new tax breaks to encourage power companies to keep their coal-fired units operating.

Gov. Jim Justice (R) signed into law Wednesday a bill (S.B. 793) allowing utilities to lower their business and occupational taxes if they stay open for at least another five years. Companies can reduce their tax base to 45 percent of actual generating capacity beginning in July 2021 by operating their units until July 2025.

• The tax breaks could amount to as much as $16.3 million per year out of roughly $100 million remitted by the industry, according to fiscal note ...