Senate Bill No. 470

(By Senator Manchin)

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[Introduced February 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a, relating to car rental companies; authorizing an additional rental tax to be assessed on automobile rentals; defining terms; providing for the reporting of the additional tax collected; exempting rental vehicles from the privilege tax; authorizing audits; and providing for criminal penalties for violation of this section.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF

CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.

§17A-3-4a. Car rental companies, taxes, reporting and penalties.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, there shall be imposed in addition to the six percent tax set forth in section three, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code a six percent tax on the gross proceeds of the rental of any daily rental passenger car. A daily rental passenger car means a motor vehicle (other than a motorcycle) that is held for rental, used for the transportation of persons and having a gross vehicle weight of nine thousand pounds or less.
(b) The additional tax imposed by this section on the renting of a motor vehicle shall be paid by the person renting such motor vehicle, collected by the rentor of the motor vehicle, and remitted to the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles on or before the twentieth day of the month following the month in which the gross proceeds from such rental was due. Along with the tax due, the rentor shall forward a return to the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles upon a form or forms prescribed and furnished by the division of motor vehicles, showing the gross proceeds from rentals of all motor vehicles, and of all daily rental passenger cars, during the preceding calendar month. If any person fails to pay the tax, the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles shall bring an appropriate action for the recovery of such tax plus interest.
(c) A credit may be claimed by the rentor against the additional rental tax on a daily rental passenger car for any tangible personal property tax paid on that car.
(d) Rental vehicles are exempt from the five percent privelege tax set forth in section four, article three, chapter seventeen of this code. However, in order to qualify for this exemption, the vehicle must be held exclusively for rental as an established business, or part of an establishhed business, or incidental or germane to an established rental business, at the time that it is first required to be titled in West Virginia.
(e) In every transaction subject to the provisions of this section, the tax imposed by this section shall be separately stated from the rental price of the motor vehicle and shall be paid by the rentor in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(f) The commissioner may audit businesses making the reports under subsection (b) of this section. Any business assessing the additional tax authorized under this section which fails to comply with the reporting requirements of this section or which files a report which misrepresents the amount of rental car revenues generated in this state; the amount of additional tax collected pursuant to this section or any person who counsels, advises, aids or abets the business in the submission of the report is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not to exceed one thousand dollars. Each violation constitutes a separate offense. The penalties in this section are in addition to those contained in article nine, chapter eleven of this code.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize an additional tax to be assessed on automobile rentals, provide for the reporting of the additional tax collected, exempt rental vehicles from the privilege tax, authorize audits, and provide for criminal penalties for violation of this section.

Section four-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.