Ex-West Virginia residents offered $25K to move back

West Virginia is poised to offer former residents $25,000 in tax credits if they move back to the Mountain State for work.

Charleston’s GOP-led state Senate approved the proposal unanimously Monday, sending the bill to the House of Delegates, which is also dominated by Republicans.

To receive the avalanche of Appalachian cash, West Virginia expats must have been born in the state or lived and worked there for at least 10 years before leaving for at least a decade before 2023.

It’s not the first time state officials have dangled free money to try to boost the state’s declining population. The Department of Tourism offered $12,000 in cash plus free outdoor activities in an effort to entice out-of-state remote workers to move to certain regions in 2021.

The state of 1.8 million had lost about 3.2% of its population since 2010, according to census figures — marking the largest percentage decline of any state in the union.

West Virginia now has fewer residents than it did in 1950, due in part to long-term declines in the coal and steel industry.

It was considered the fourth-most impoverished state in the US by census officials, with more than 17% of residents living below the poverty line. The average per-capita income there was less than $29,000 in 2021. Some 93% of residents are white, statistics show.

Reaction online was mixed, with some people saying the measure could be a boon for West Virginia, while others complained that the measure reeked of socialism.

“Put the money in education, infrastructure, health care etc where West Virginia ranks at the bottom,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Imagine if instead of paying people to come back they invested in technology & companies that would attract people to move there. Or they could just stick with coal,” another user tweeted.

“And who pays for that? Federal taxpayers. Deep red WV is a failed socialist state,” said another commenter.

“Socialism for me but not for thee,” another said.

Still other Twitter users resorted to snide and disparaging commentary.

“The only drawback: You’ll be in West Virginia,” one wrote.

With Post wires