Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/bill_status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB401%20SUB1%20enr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=401
Timestamp: 2018-02-25 20:43:51
Document Index: 138335960

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SB 401 Text
Enrolled Version - Final Version Senate Bill 401 History
SB401 SUB1 enr
(Senators McCabe, Wells, Prezioso,
K. Facemyer, Boley, Plymale, Fanning,
Minard, Edgell, Jenkins, Chafin and Foster, original sponsors)
[Passed March 16, 2010; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §11-3-1, §11-3-2a, §11-3-10, §11-3-12, §11-3-15, §11-3-19, §11-3-24, §11-3-24a and §11-3-25 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto fourteen new sections, designated §11-3-15a, §11-3-15b, §11-3-15c, §11-3-15d, §11-3-15e, §11-3-15f, §11-3-15g, §11-3-15h, §11-3-15i, §11-3-23a, §11-3-24b, §11-3-25a, §11-3-32 and §11-3-33; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §11-6K-1, §11-6K-2, §11-6K-3, §11-6K-4, §11-6K-5, §11-6K-6, §11-6K-7 and §11-6K-8; and to amend and reenact §18-9A-12 of said code, all relating to taxation of real and personal property for ad valorem property tax purposes; defining and conforming terms used; making technical corrections in certain code sections to conform to prior acts of the Legislature; accelerating date for issuance of notices of increase in assessed value of real property; updating penalties for failure to file required property tax reports and returns; clarifying report and return filing requirements; accelerating due dates for filing reports and returns; assessment of property of limited liability companies; requiring assessors to notify owners of commercial business personal property of increases in assessed values for current assessment year by an established deadline; providing procedures for property owners to protest notices of assessed valuation and obtain appropriate adjustments from county assessors; providing for appeal of protested assessments to county board of equalization and review, board of assessment appeals and circuit court; providing for protest of classification or taxability to Tax Commissioner; specifying effective dates; providing for discovery; authorizing assignment to hearing examiner; providing methods for assessment of industrial property and natural resources property; establishing time and basis for assessments; providing for pertinent definitions; specifying form and manner of making returns; establishing criminal penalties for failure to file; providing for tentative appraisals by Tax Commissioner and notification to taxpayers; providing procedures for informal review of tentative appraisals; making of final appraisals; transmitting final appraisals to assessors; providing for appeals; authorizing reductions of assessments upon instruction of Tax Commissioner in certain circumstances; specifying effective dates; and holding harmless the local share for public school support for reductions in revenues resulting from decisions of a board of assessment appeals.
That §11-3-1, §11-3-2a, §11-3-10, §11-3-12, §11-3-15, §11-3-19, §11-3-24, §11-3-24a and §11-3-25 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto fourteen new sections, designated §11-3-15a, §11-3-15b, §11-3-15c, §11-3-15d, §11-3-15e, §11-3-15f, §11-3-15g, §11-3-15h, §11-3-15i, §11-3-23a, §11-3-24b, §11-3-25a, §11-3-32 and §11-3-33; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §11-6K-1, §11-6K-2, §11-6K-3, §11-6K-4, §11-6K-5, §11-6K-6, §11-6K-7 and §11-6K-8; and that §18-9A-12 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
(a) All property, except public service businesses assessed pursuant to article six of this chapter, shall be assessed annually as of July 1 at sixty percent of its true and actual value, that is to say, at the price for which the property would sell if voluntarily offered for sale by the owner thereof, upon the terms as the property, the value of which is sought to be ascertained, is usually sold, and not the price which might be realized if the property were sold at a forced sale.
Subscribed and sworn to before me by ............... this the .......... day of................., 20 ......
(b) The petition shall state the taxpayer's opinion of the true and actual value of the property and substantial information that justifies that opinion of value for the assessor to consider for purposes of basing a change in classification or correction of the valuation. For purposes of this subsection, the taxpayer provides substantial information to justify the opinion of value by stating the method or methods of valuation on which the opinion is based:
(d) The petition shall be filed within five days after the date the taxpayer receives the notice of increased assessment under section two-a of this article or the notice of increased value was published as a Class II-0 legal advertisement as provided in that section.
(a) The owner of business tangible personal property that is valued by the assessor or the person in whose possession it is found on the assessment date may appeal to the assessor within five days after the date the notice of increased assessment required by section fifteen-b of this article was received by filing a petition with the assessor on a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner. The petition shall set forth in writing:
(c) If all or part of the petitioner's request under section fifteen-c, fifteen-d or fifteen-e of this article is denied, the assessor shall mail, on the date of the ruling, to the petitioner at the address shown on the petition notice of the grounds of the refusal to make the change or changes requested in the petition. A petitioner whose request is denied, in whole or in part, or a petitioner who does not receive a response from the assessor by February 10, as provided in section fifteen-h of this article, may
file a protest with the county commission sitting as a board of equalization and review, as provided in section twenty-four of this
I, ................., assessor of the county of ............., do solemnly swear, (or affirm) that in making the foregoing assessment I have to the best of my knowledge and ability pursued the law prescribing the duties of assessors and that I have not been influenced in making the same by fear, favor or partiality; so help me, God.
(a) General. -- Anytime after real or tangible personal property is returned for taxation, the taxpayer may apply to the assessor of the county in which the property was situated on the assessment date for information about the classification, taxability or valuation of the property for property tax purposes for the tax year following the July 1 assessment date. A taxpayer who is not satisfied with the response of the assessor and wants to further pursue the matter must follow the procedures set forth in this section.
(b) Classification or taxability. -- A taxpayer who wants to contest the classification or taxability of property must follow the procedures set forth in section twenty-four-a of this article.
(d) Valuation issues - property appraised by Tax Commissioner and assessed by county assessor. --
(a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by any assessment in any land or personal property book of any county who shall have appeared and contested the valuation as provided in section twenty-four or twenty-four-a of this article, or whose assessment has been raised by the county commission sitting as a board of equalization and review above the assessment fixed by the assessor may, at any time up to thirty days after the adjournment of the board sitting as a board of equalization and review, or at anytime up to thirty days after the order of the board of assessment appeals is served on the parties, apply for relief to the circuit court of the county in which the property books are made out; but any person applying for relief in circuit court shall, before any application is heard, give ten days' notice to the prosecuting attorney of the county, whose duty it shall be to attend to the interests of the state, county and district in the matter, and the prosecuting attorney shall give at least five days' notice of hearing to the Tax Commissioner.
(b) The right of appeal from any assessment by the board of equalization and review or order of the board of assessment appeals as provided in this section, may be taken either by the applicant or by the state, and in case the applicant, by his or her agent or attorney, or the state, by its prosecuting attorney or Tax Commissioner, desires to take an appeal from the decision of the either board, the party desiring to take an appeal shall have the evidence taken at the hearing of the application before either board, including a transcript of all testimony and all papers, motions, documents, evidence and records as were before the board, certified by the county clerk and transmitted to the circuit court as provided in section four, article three, chapter fifty-eight of this code, except that, any other provision of this code notwithstanding, the evidence shall be certified and transmitted within thirty days after the petition for appeal is filed with the court or judge, in vacation.
(b) In the event the order of a court becomes final and the order results in an overpayment of taxes levied for the tax year that have been paid to the sheriff, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded to the taxpayer if the overpayment is $25,000 or less within thirty days after the time for appealing the decision or order expires or, if the decision or order is appealed, within thirty days of the date the appeals court turns down the appeal: Provided, That, if the taxpayer's protest before the county commission below was heard pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-four-b of this article, the refund shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of that section. If the overpayment is more than $25,000, a credit in the amount of the overpayment shall be established by the county sheriff and allowed as a credit against taxes owed up to the following two tax years: Provided, That the county commission may elect to refund the amount of overpayment rather than having a credit established as provided in this section: Provided however, That if any portion of the overpayment remains unused after the date on which taxes payable for the second half of the second tax year following the tax year of the overpayment become delinquent, that portion shall be refunded to taxpayer by the county sheriff no later than thirty days after that date or thirty days from the date that the circuit court order becomes final, whichever date occurs later. Whenever an overpayment is refunded or credited under this section, the county shall pay interest at the rate established in section seventeen and seventeen-a, article ten of this chapter for overpayments of taxes collected by the Tax Commissioner, which interest shall be computed from the date the overpayment was received by the sheriff to the date of the refund check or the date the credit is actually taken against taxes that become due after the order of the court becomes final.
§11-6K-1. Time and basis of assessments; true and actual value; and returns of property to Tax Commissioner.
(a) All industrial property and natural resources property shall be assessed annually as of the assessment date at sixty percent of its true and actual value.
(b) If required by the Tax Commissioner, all owners or operators of natural resources property, except oil-producing property, natural gas-producing property and managed timberland, shall, on or before May 1 preceding the July 1 assessment date, make a return to the Tax Commissioner and, if requested in writing by the assessor of the county where situated, to the county assessor, at a time and in the form specified by the Tax Commissioner, of all applicable natural resources property owned by them. Tax returns required to be filed pursuant to this section may be filed electronically in the discretion of the Tax Commissioner. The Tax Commissioner may require the filing of all information which would be useful in valuing the property covered by the returns. Upon written application by the taxpayer filed prior to the due date of any return required to be filed by this section, the Tax Commissioner may for reasonable cause shown grant an extension of no more than one month in the due date of any return.
(c) If required by the Tax Commissioner, all owners or operators of industrial property, oil-producing property and natural gas-producing property, shall, on or before August 1 of the assessment year, make a return to the Tax Commissioner and, if requested in writing by the assessor of the county where situated, to the county assessor, at a time and in the form specified by the Tax Commissioner, of all industrial property, oil-producing property and natural gas-producing property, owned by them. Tax returns required to be filed pursuant to this section may be filed electronically in the discretion of the Tax Commissioner. The Tax Commissioner may require the filing of all information which would be useful in valuing the property covered by the returns. Upon written application by the taxpayer filed prior to the due date of any return required to be filed by this section, the Tax Commissioner may for reasonable cause shown grant an extension of no more than one month in the due date of any return.
§11-6K-2. Definitions.
(1) "Active coal mining property" means a mineable bed of coal on a property or portion of a property involved in a permitted mining operation. Each and every bed of coal being mined in a permitted mining operation is a separate active mining property.
(2) "Industrial property" means the real and personal property integrated as a functioning unit intended for the assembling, processing and manufacturing of finished or partially finished products.
(3) "Managed timberland" means surface real property, except farm woodlots, of not less than ten contiguous acres which is devoted primarily to forest use and which, in consideration of its size, has sufficient numbers of commercially valuable species of trees to constitute at least forty percent normal stocking of forest trees which are well distributed over the growing site, and that is certified as managed timberland by the Division of Forestry.
(4) "Natural gas-producing property" means the property from which natural gas has been produced or extracted at any time during the calendar year preceding the assessment date. Natural gas producing-property includes the property interest or interests underlying an area of up to one hundred twenty-five acres of surface per well for property with active wells on the parcel.
(5) "Natural resources property" means any of the following: Active coal mining property, reserve coal property, natural gas-producing property, oil-producing property, managed timberland or other natural resources property.
(6) "Oil-producing property" means property from which oil has been produced or extracted at any time during the calendar year preceding the assessment date. Oil-producing property includes the interest or interests underlying an area of up to forty acres of surface per well with one or more active wells on the parcel.
(7) "Operator" means an individual, limited liability company, partnership, corporation, joint venture or other enterprise which proposes to or does locate, drill, produce, manage or abandon any oil and/or natural gas well or which is engaged in actively obtaining or preparing to obtain coal and/or its by-products from the earth's crust on an active coal mining property.
(8) "Reserve coal property" means any property for which coal rights are part of the owned estate and which is not part of an active coal mining property.
§11-6K-3. Form and manner of making return; failure to timely make return; penalties.
(a) All returns required to be made to the Tax Commissioner under this article shall be made in conformity with any reasonable requirements of the Tax Commissioner of which the person making the return shall have had notice, and shall be made upon forms prescribed by the Tax Commissioner who is invested with full power and authority to prescribe the forms required from any owner, operator or producer that may be of use to the Tax Commissioner in determining the true and actual value of the properties of the owners, operators or producers.
(b) All returns shall be signed and sworn to by the owner, operator or producer if a natural person, or, if the owner, operator or producer shall be a limited liability company, corporation, partnership, joint venture or other enterprise, shall be signed and sworn to by its president, vice president, secretary or other individual authorized to act on behalf of the taxpayer.
(c) If any owner, operator or producer fails to make a return within the time required by section one of this article, it shall be the duty of the Tax Commissioner to take steps as necessary to compel compliance and to enforce any and all penalties imposed by law for failure to do so.
(d) Any owner, operator or producer, whether a natural person, limited liability company, corporation, partnership, joint venture or other enterprise, willfully failing to make a return within thirty days from the day it is herein required shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, fined $100 for each month the failure continues. In addition, any penalties provided in this chapter or elsewhere in this code relating to failure to list any property or to file any return or report for ad valorem taxation purposes may be applied to any owner of property required to make a return pursuant to this section.
§11-6K-4. Review of returns; procuring information for tentative appraisals; tentative appraisals by Tax Commissioner; and notification to taxpayers.
(a) All returns delivered to the Tax Commissioner shall be examined by him or her, and if found insufficient in form or in any respect defective, imperfect or not in compliance with law, he or she shall compel the person delivering the return to make it in proper and sufficient form in all respects as required by law.
(b) If any owner, operator or producer fails to make a required return, the Tax Commissioner shall proceed to obtain the facts and information required to be furnished by the returns.
(c) For the purposes of ascertaining the correctness of any return filed pursuant to this article or of valuing the property of any industrial taxpayer or natural resources property owner or operator, the Tax Commissioner may exercise all of the powers and authority granted to him or her by sections five-a, five-b and five-c, article ten of this chapter.
(d) Using information provided on the returns and all other pertinent evidence, information and data he or she has been able to procure, the Tax Commissioner shall annually value and make tentative appraisals of all industrial property and natural resources property as provided in section ten, article one-c of this chapter.
(e) On or before October 15 of the assessment year, the Tax Commissioner shall complete the preparation of tentative appraisals of all industrial property and natural resources property and shall notify the owner or operator affected thereby of the amount of the tentative appraisals: Provided, That in the case of oil-producing property, natural gas-producing property and managed timberland, the Tax Commissioner shall complete the preparation of tentative appraisals and notify the affected owner or operator by December 1 of the assessment year, and: Provided further, That no notification shall be required where the total increase in the aggregate amount of the tentative appraisals to the owner or operator affected thereby does not exceed $1,000 and the total tentative appraisals did not increase by more than ten percent from the prior year's appraisals. Notification may, at the reasonable discretion of the Tax Commissioner, be: (1) By written notice deposited in the United States mail, addressed to the owner or operator at the principal office or place of business of the owner or operator; (2) by electronic notification; or (3) by any other means designed to communicate the tentative appraisal information to the owner or operator in a timely and efficient manner and in a convenient useable form. Any notice required to be provided under this section to an owner or operator shall also be provided by the Tax Commissioner to the assessor of the county in which the property is located. The Tax Commissioner shall retain in his or her office true copies of tentative appraisals and of the underlying work sheets used to compute the tentative appraisals, all of which shall be available for inspection by any owner or operator or his or her duly authorized representative.
§11-6K-5. Informal petition to Tax Commissioner for review of tentative appraisals.
(a) A taxpayer who is of the opinion that the tentative appraisal of its industrial property or natural resources property, except oil-producing property, natural gas-producing property and managed timberland, does not reflect the true and actual value of the property or is otherwise improperly valued may, after receiving its tentative appraisal and on or before November 15 of the assessment year, informally petition the Tax Commissioner requesting a review of the tentative appraisal. Likewise, an assessor who is of the opinion that the tentative appraisal of any industrial property or natural resources property, except oil- producing property, natural gas-producing property and managed timberland, located in the county does not reflect the true and actual value of the property or is otherwise improperly valued may, after receiving the tentative appraisal and on or before November 15 of the assessment year, informally petition the Tax Commissioner requesting a review of the tentative appraisal. The Tax Commissioner may require the petition be made on a written form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner. At the time a petition is filed by a taxpayer with the Tax Commissioner, the petitioner shall provide a copy of the petition to the assessor of the county in which the property is located. At the time a petition is filed by an assessor with the Tax Commissioner, the petitioner shall provide a copy of the petition to the taxpayer involved.
(b) At the petitioner's request, the Tax Commissioner or his or her representative shall meet with the petitioner or the petitioner's representative to discuss the petition at a time and place designated at least five working days in advance by the Tax Commissioner after the petition is filed. If the petitioner is unable to appear and meet with the Tax Commissioner at the time and place set by the Tax Commissioner, the petitioner may submit written evidence to support the petition if it is submitted before the date of the meeting.
(c) The Tax Commissioner shall consider and rule on each informal petition filed under this section on or before January 15 of the tax year. If the Tax Commissioner agrees with the petition he or she shall modify the tentative appraisal accordingly. The Tax Commissioner shall then notify the petitioner and assessor of the county in which the property is located in writing of his or her decision and shall include supporting data that the assessor might need to evaluate the appraisal.
§11-6K-6. Final appraisal of industrial property and natural resources property by Tax Commissioner; appraisals sent to assessors; appeals of Tax Commissioner's appraisals.
(a) The Tax Commissioner shall finalize the tentative appraisals made pursuant to section four of this article and make his or her final appraisals of industrial property and natural resources property on or before December 15 of the assessment year.
(b) On or before December 15 of the assessment year, the Tax Commissioner shall forward each industrial property and natural resources property appraisal to the county assessor of the county in which that property is located. In so doing, The Tax Commissioner shall identify those appraisals that may still be under review under section five of this article. The assessor shall then multiply each appraisal by sixty percent and include the resulting assessed value in the land book or the personal property book, as appropriate for each tax year. The Tax Commissioner shall supply supporting data that the assessor might need to evaluate the appraisal.
(c) Any taxpayer claiming to be aggrieved by any assessment made pursuant to this article may appeal the assessment as provided under the provisions of article three of this chapter: Provided, That if the assessment exceeds sixty percent of the final appraisal by the Tax Commissioner, the taxpayer may notify the Tax Commissioner in writing of this error, whereupon he or she shall, if the error is confirmed, instruct the assessor in writing to lower the assessment to sixty percent of the final appraisal. The assessor shall, upon receipt of instruction from the Tax Commissioner, lower the assessment as required.
§11-6K-7. Effective date.
The provisions of this article enacted in the year 2010 shall be effective for the assessment years and the tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2011.
§11-6K-8. Rules.