SB742 HFIN AM
The Committee on Finance moves to amend the bill on page one,
following the enacting clause by striking the remainder of the bill
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §11-6H-1, §11-6H-2,
§11-6H-3, §11-6H-4, §11-6H-5 and §11-6H-6, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6H. SPECIAL METHOD FOR VALUATION OF AIRCRAFT.
§11-6H-1. Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the "Aircraft
Valuation Act".
§11-6H-2. Definitions.
(a) When used in this article, or in the administration of
this article, terms defined in subsection (b) of this section have
the meanings ascribed to them by this section, unless a different
meaning is clearly required by the context in which the term is
used.
(b) Terms defined.
(1) "Aircraft" includes any airplane or helicopter hangered in
this state for storage or maintenance purposes or both.
(2) "Person" means and includes any state, or its political
subdivisions or an agency of the state of West Virginia or its
political subdivisions, or any individual, firm, partnership, joint
venture, joint stock company, the government of the United States
or its agencies, any public or private corporation, municipal
corporation, cooperative, estate, trust, business trust, receiver,
executor, administrator, any other fiduciary, any representative appointed by order of any court or otherwise acting on behalf of
others, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(3) "Salvage value" means the lower of fair market salvage
value or five percent of the original cost of the property.
§11-6H-3. Valuation of aircrafts.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the value of an aircraft, for the purpose of ad valorem
property taxation under this chapter and under Article X of the
Constitution of this State, shall be its salvage value.
§11-6H-4. Initial determination by county assessor.
The assessor of the county in which an aircraft is located
shall determine, in writing, whether that aircraft is subject to
valuation in accordance with this article. Upon making a
determination that a taxpayer has an aircraft subject to valuation
in accordance with this article, the county assessor shall notify
the tax commissioner of that determination, and shall provide such
information to the tax commissioner as the tax commissioner may
require relating to that determination.
§11-6H-5. Protest and appeal.
At any time after the aircraft is returned for taxation but
prior to the first day of January of the assessment year, any
taxpayer may apply to the county assessor for information regarding
the issue of whether the taxpayer's aircraft should be subject to
valuation in accordance with this article. If the taxpayer
believes that some portion of the taxpayer's property is subject to
the provisions of this article, the taxpayer shall file objections
in writing with the county assessor. The county assessor shall decide the matter by either sustaining the protest and making
proper corrections, or by stating, in writing if requested, the
reasons for the county assessor's refusal. The county assessor
may, and if the taxpayer requests, the county assessor shall,
before the first day of January of the assessment year, certify the
question to the tax commissioner in a statement sworn to by both
parties, or if the parties are unable to agree, in separate sworn
statements. The sworn statement or statements shall contain a full
description of the property and any other information which the tax
commissioner may require.
The tax commissioner shall, as soon as possible on receipt of
the question, but in no case later than the twenty-eighth day of
February of the assessment year, instruct the county assessor as to
how the property shall be treated. The instructions issued and
forwarded by mail to the county assessor are binding upon the
county assessor, but either the county assessor or the taxpayer may
apply to the circuit court of the county for review of the question
of the applicability of this article to the property in the same
fashion as is provided for appeals from the county commission in
section twenty-five, article three of this chapter. The tax
commissioner shall prescribe forms on which the questions under
this section shall be certified and the tax commissioner has the
authority to pursue any inquiry and procure any information which
may be necessary for disposition of the matter.
§11-6H-6. Effective date.
This article shall be effective on and after the first day of
July, two thousand seven."