H. B. 2470
(By Delegates Williams, Shaver, Perry,
Hartman, Romine, Michael and Sumner)
[Introduced February 16, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-15-11 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to consumer sales tax exemptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-15-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. CONSUMERS SALES AND SERVICE TAX.
§11-15-11. Exemption for certain organizations.
(a) Sales of taxable services by a corporation or organization
that are exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code, and that meet the requirements set forth
in subsection (b) of this section, are exempt from the tax imposed
by this article, except that this exemption shall not apply to
sales of taxable services to the extent that income received from
the sales of such services is taxable under Section 511 of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(b) The exemption set forth in this section applies only to
those corporations or organizations meeting the following criteria:
(1) The corporation or organization is organized and operated
primarily for charitable or educational purposes and its activities
and programs contribute importantly to promoting the general
welfare of youth, families and the aged, improving health and
fitness and providing recreational opportunities to the public;
and
shall include all public and private schools which include
kindergarten through grade twelve in the State of West Virginia;
(2) The corporation or organization offers membership or
participation in its programs and activities to the general public
and charges fees or dues which make its programs and activities
accessible by a reasonable cross-section of the community; and
(3) The corporation or organization offers financial
assistance on a regular and on-going basis to individuals unable to
afford the organization's membership dues or fees.
(c) The Tax Commissioner is prohibited from issuing any
assessments and from taking any other action under article ten of
this chapter after December 31, 1991, to collect the tax imposed by
this article from an organization described in subsections (a) and
(b) of this section that did not collect the tax on transactions
occurring before July 1, 1992. The Tax Commissioner is also
prohibited from refunding any tax collected by a qualified
organization prior to July 1, 1992, that was paid over to the Tax Commissioner.
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "corporation" and
the term "organization" are used interchangeably and mean a
corporation or other organization that is exempt from income tax
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended.
(e) Nothing in this section shall affect the application of
this article to nonprofit tax-exempt hospitals.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt all schools which
include grades kindergarten through grade twelve from paying
consumer sales tax on items the school sells.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.