RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has blocked Republican efforts to reinstate a tax credit aimed at helping the coal industry.
The governor, a Democrat, said Friday he was vetoing legislation to reinstate coal tax credits because they’d proven ineffective at increasing coal mining jobs.
Republican supporters of the measure said it was necessary to help southwest Virginia’s hard-hit coal industry. But McAuliffe and environmental groups say the credits don’t work as intended. The governor has vetoed similar legislation before.
McAuliffe said that between 1988 and 2015, coal-related companies claimed more than $637 million in tax credits while the number of coal miners dropped from more than 11,000 to about 2,500.
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