H. B. 2065


(By Delegates Doyle and Manuel)

[Introduced February 13, 1997; referred to the

Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.]





A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article twenty-two, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing the additional county excise tax on real property; and dedicating the proceeds of the increase to county parks and recreation projects.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article twenty-two, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. EXCISE TAX ON PRIVILEGE OF TRANSFERRING REAL PROPERTY.

§11-22-2. Rate of tax; when and by whom payable; additional county tax.

Every person who delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document, or in whose behalf any document is delivered, accepted or presented for recording, shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction or any part thereof, a state excise tax upon the privilege of transferring title to real estate at the rate of one dollar and ten cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one hereof, which state tax shall be payable at the time of delivery, acceptance or presenting for recording of such document.
Effective January first, one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight and thereafter, there is hereby imposed an additional county excise tax for the privilege of transferring title to real estate at the rate of fifty-five cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one hereof, which county tax shall be payable at the time of delivery, acceptance or presenting for recording of such document: Provided, That after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, the county may increase said excise tax amount but in no event shall the same exceed double the present tax rate. The additional tax hereby imposed is declared to be a county tax and to be used for county purposes: Provided, however, That after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, the county may increase said excise tax amount at the rate of fifty-five cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one hereof. The additional tax hereby imposed is declared to be a county tax and to be used for county parks and recreation purposes, as approved by the state division of natural resources, by the county where the additional tax is collected: Provided further, That only one such state tax and one such county tax shall be paid on any one document and shall be collected in the county where the document is first admitted to record, and the same shall be paid by the grantor therein unless the grantee accepts the same without such tax having been paid, in which event such tax shall be paid by the grantee: And provided further, That on any transfer of real property from a trustee or a county clerk transferring real estate sold for taxes, such tax shall be paid by the grantee.
The county excise tax imposed under this section may not be increased in any county unless the increase is approved by a majority vote of the members of the county commission of such county. Any county commission intending to increase the excise tax imposed in its county shall publish a notice of its intention to increase such tax not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days prior to the meeting at which such increase will be considered, such notice to be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area shall be the county in which such county commission is located.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the additional county excise tax on the transfer of real property by the rate of fifty-five cents per $500.00 value transferred. The additional tax collected is to be used by the county collecting the tax for parks and recreation projects and activities that are approved by the Division of Natural Resources.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS COMMITTEE AMENDMENT


On page one, following the enacting clause, by striking out
the remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"That section two, article twenty-two, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section eleven, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 22. EXCISE TAX ON PRIVILEGE OF TRANSFERRING REAL PROPERTY.


§11-22-2. Rate of tax; when and by whom payable; additional county tax.


(a) Every person who delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document, or in whose behalf any document is delivered, accepted or presented for recording, shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction or any part thereof, a state excise tax upon the privilege of transferring title to real estate at the rate of one dollar and ten cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one hereof, which state tax shall be payable at the time of delivery, acceptance or presenting for recording of such the document.

(b) Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight and thereafter, there is hereby imposed an additional county excise tax for the privilege of transferring title to real estate at the rate of fifty-five cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one hereof, which county tax shall be payable at the time of delivery, acceptance or presenting for recording of such the document: Provided, That after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty- nine, the county may increase said excise tax amount but in no event shall the same exceed double the present tax rate. The additional tax hereby imposed is declared to be a county tax and to be used for county purposes: Provided, however, That after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, the county may increase said excise tax amount at the rate of fifty-five cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by the document as defined in section one hereof. The additional tax hereby imposed is declared to be a county tax and shall be dedicated for county parks and recreation purposes, municipal parks, special park districts and convention center maintenance only, by the county where the additional tax is collected: Provided further, That only such the state tax and such the county tax shall be paid on any one document and shall be collected in the county where the document is first admitted to record, and the same shall be paid by the grantor therein unless the grantee accepts the same without such the tax having been paid, in which event such the tax shall be paid by the grantee: And provided further, That on any transfer of real property from a trustee or a county clerk transferring real estate sold for taxes, such the tax shall be paid by the grantee.

(a) (c) The county excise tax imposed under this section may not be increased in any county unless the increase is approved by a majority vote of the members of the county commission of such county. Any county commission intending to increase the excise tax imposed in its county shall publish a notice of its intention to increase such tax not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days prior to the meeting at which such increase will be considered, such notice to be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area shall be the county in which such county commission is located.

§11-22-11. Accountability.

Any county that elects to impose the additional excise tax after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- seven as provided for in subsection two, shall submit an annual report to the department of tax and revenue regarding how the revenues generated from the tax were used for county parks and recreation projects."

POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS TITLE AMENDMENT


"A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article twenty-two, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing the additional county excise tax on real property; and dedicating the proceeds of the increase to county parks and recreation projects, municipal parks, special park districts, convention center maintenance; and profviding for accountability of expenditures to the state tax eddepartment."