RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia General Assembly’s watchdog agency has found that two tax credit programs meant to retrain workers and promote telecommuting are busts and need to be eliminated. The Joint Legislative Audit and Reviews Commission said in a report released Monday that the state’s Worker Retraining Tax Credit and the Telework Expenses Tax Credit are producing negligible returns. The retraining credit returned 12 cents to the state’s economy for every dollar spent. The telework credit returned 4 cents for every dollar spent. The commission found that other efforts at economic development, like small business loan programs, have a much higher economic benefit for the state. Lawmakers and Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration say they are interested in reforming the state’s economic development incentive programs.
