COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2496
(By Delegate Warner)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[April 1, 1997]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article six, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by
adding thereto a new section, designated section seven-a, all
relating to tax assessments of commercial motor vehicles;
expanding coverage for imposition of an ad valorem tax on
public service businesses to include commercial vehicles
subject to proportional registration agreements involving
other states by virtue of engaging in interstate commerce, and
those involved solely in intrastate commerce; and setting
forth a formula to calculate the tax.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article six, 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 seven-a, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE BUSINESSES.
§11-6-1. Returns of property to board of public works.
(a) On or before the first day of May in each year a return in
writing shall be filed with the board of public works: (1) By the
owner or operator of every railroad, wholly or in part within this
state; (2) by the owner or operator of every railroad bridge upon
which a separate toll or fare is charged; (3) by the owner or
operator of every car or line of cars used upon any railroad within
the state for transportation or accommodation of freight or
passengers, other than
such the owners or operators as may own or
operate a railroad within the state; (4) by the owner or operator
of every express company or express line, wholly or in part within
this state, used for the transportation by steam or otherwise of
freight and other articles of commerce; (5) by the owner or
operator of every pipeline, wholly or in part within this state,
used for the transportation of oil or gas or water, whether
such
the oil or gas or water be owned by
such the owner or operator or
not, or for the transmission of electrical or other power, or the
transmission of steam or heat and power or of articles by pneumatic
or other power; (6) by the owner or operator of every telegraph or
telephone line, wholly or in part within this state, except private
lines not operated for compensation; (7) by the owner and operator of every gas company and electric lighting company furnishing gas
or electricity for lighting, heating or power purposes; (8) by the
owner or operator of hydroelectric companies for the generation and
transmission of light, heat or power; (9) by the owner or operator
of water companies furnishing or distributing water;
and (10) by
the owner or operator of all other public service corporations or
persons engaged in public service business whose property is
located, wholly or in part, within this state;
and (11) on or
before the first day of May, one thousand nine hundred ninety- eight, and on or before the first day of May, each year thereafter,
by the owner or operator of every truck or semitrailer used as a
commercial motor vehicle in the transportation of property either
exclusively within this state or within and without this state by
commercial motor vehicles registered under a proportional
registration agreement pursuant to the provisions of section ten-a,
article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code. For the purposes of
this article, commercial motor vehicle is defined as those vehicles
registered under a proportional registration agreement pursuant to
the provisions of section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a
of this code and vehicles that would otherwise be subject to
registration under a proportional registration agreement as
provided in section ten-a except that the vehicle is only engaged
in intrastate commerce. The procedure for determining the
valuation thereof is exclusively provided for under section seven-a of this article.
(b) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to
railroad companies, shall include every railroad company
incorporated by or under the laws of this state for the purpose of
constructing and operating a railroad, or of operating part of a
railroad within this state, whether
such the railroad or any part
of it be in operation or not; and shall also include every other
railroad company, or persons or associations of persons, owning or
operating a railroad or part of a railroad in this state on which
freight or passengers, or both, are carried for compensation. The
word "railroad," as used herein includes every street, city,
suburban or electric or other railroad or railway.
(c) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to
express companies, shall include every express company incorporated
by or under the laws of this state, or doing business in this
state, whether incorporated or not, and any person or association
of persons, owning or operating any express company or express line
upon any railroad or otherwise, doing business partly or wholly
within this state.
(d) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to trucks
or semitrailers used as a commercial motor vehicle in the
transportation of property
, shall include every company
incorporated by or under the laws of this state, or doing business
in this state, whether incorporated or not, and any person or association of persons, owning or operating any truck or
semitrailer used as a commercial motor vehicle in the
transportation of property
doing business partly or wholly within
this state.
(d) (e) Such The return shall be signed and sworn to by such
the owner or operator if a natural person, or, if such the owner or
operator shall be a corporation, shall be signed and sworn to by
its president, vice president, secretary or principal accounting
officer.
(e) (f) The return required by this section of every such
owner or operator shall cover the year ending on the thirty-first
day of December, next preceding, and shall be made on forms
prescribed by the board of public works, which board is hereby
invested with full power and authority and it is hereby made its
duty to prescribe such the forms as will require from any owner or
operator herein mentioned such information as in the judgment of
the board may be of use to it in determining the true and actual
value of the properties of such the owners or operators.
§11-6-7a. Same - Commercial motor vehicles; calculation of tax.
(a) In the case of commercial motor vehicles used for the
transportation of property
exclusively within this state
or
commercial vehicles used for the transportation of property both
within and without this state which are subject to being registered
under a proportional registration agreement pursuant to the provisions of section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of
this code, by owners or operators, the return shall show for each
commercial vehicle operator the total miles driven in West Virginia
and the total miles driven in any other states as reported in the
most recent taxable year to the division of motor vehicles pursuant
to any proportional registration agreement on file therewith. The
return shall, additionally, show the gross capital cost of the
commercial vehicle to the purchaser thereof and the year the
purchaser acquired the commercial vehicle.
In the case of
commercial motor vehicles used for the transportation of property
exclusively within this state the return shall only show the gross
capital cost of the commercial vehicle to the purchaser thereof and
the year the thethe commercial vehicle was acquired by the purchaser
thereof.
(b) Ad valorem taxes provided for in this chapter shall be
determined as follows for : (1) The gross capital cost of a
commercial vehicle
shall be multiplied by a percentage factor
representing the remainder of the vehicle's value after
depreciation according to a depreciation schedule established the
tax commissioner, which calculation shall yield the appraised value
of the vehicle; (2) for a trailer, semitrailer or road tractor
registered in this state as part of a fleet registered under any
proportional registration agreement under the provisions of section
ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code, the appraised value shall be multiplied by the fraction comprised of a numerator
representing the total miles driven in West Virginia (regardless
whether property is being transported for commercial purposes) in
the taxable year and a denominator representing the total miles
driven in the taxable year by the commercial motor vehicle operator
during times property was being transported for commercial
purposes, as reported to the division of motor vehicles pursuant to
any proportional registration agreement on file therewith to obtain
the apportioned value, which apportioned value shall be multiplied
by sixty percent to yield the assessed value which shall be
multiplied by the applicable rate of tax; (3)
for a trailer,
semitrailer or road tractor
operated exclusively in this state and
which is not a part of
a fleet registered under any proportional
registration agreement or is not registered under the provisions of
section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code, the
tax shall be determined by multiplying the appraised value by sixty
percent to obtain the assessed value which shall be multiplied by
the
tax rate to obtain the amount of the tax.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to expand ad valorem
taxation for public service businesses to include commercial motor
vehicles involved in interstate commerce that are required to be
registered on an apportionment basis pursuant to a proportional
registration agreement with another state or states as well as to
vehicles engaged solely in intrastate commerce. The amendment to
section one defines "commercial motor vehicle" for the purpose of
the imposition of the tax. Section seven-a sets forth the formula
for calculating the tax to be paid.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§11-6-7a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.