Tax breaks do work, official says: ; Kastick says some state tax credits are too complex

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR

Tax Secretary Brian Kastick said the big message he gets from arecently completed study of state business tax incentives is thatwell-written incentives can work but some of the tax breaks on WestVirginia's books were designed for an economy that no longer exists.

The Wise administration studied 20 state business tax incentives.The biggest, the Super Tax Credit, was modified by the Legislaturein 1990 and 1993.

"Since 1993, the Super Tax Credit has been very effective,"Kastik said. The study shows the credit created 9,000 jobs since1993 at an annual cost per job of less than $1,000. He said that'swell worth it when one considers that a …