ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 370
(By Senators Snyder and Fanning)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 12, 1999.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eleven-b, article one-c,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to taxation of real
property; and providing formula for valuation of managed
timberland.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven-b, article one-c, 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 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-11b. Valuation; rulemaking; aggrieved person and taxpayer
protests; exhaustion of remedies; compliance inspection;
notice of revocation; appeal; effective date.
(a) The tax commissioner shall establish by legislative rule
two methodologies a method for determining the appraised value of
managed timberland, based upon the land's potential to produce
future income according to its use and productive potential as
managed timberland
and whether the property is classified as Class
II property or as Class III or IV property for property tax
purposes. These values shall be determined by discounting the
potential future net income of the timberland to its present value
utilizing a discounted cash flow model based upon whether the
property is classified as Class II property or as Class III or IV
property for property tax purposes.
The formula to be used in
determining the appraised value of property categorized as managed
timberland is as follows:
Appraised Value = (Total Yield per acre x stumpage price -
Management Costs Per Acre divided by 80) divided by Capitalization
Rate.
(b) The tax commissioner shall also establish by legislative
rule a method to determine the appraised value of timberland that
is not certified as managed timberland. All timberland that is not
certified as managed timberland shall be valued at its market
value, except for farm woodlots which shall be valued as part of the farm.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five-a of this
article, the legislative rules required by subsections (a) and (b)
of this section may be promulgated as emergency legislative rules
if they are filed in the state register on or before the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
(d) (c) The value of an acre of managed timberland in a county
shall always be less than the value of an acre of timberland of
comparable soil quality in the county that is not certified as
managed timberland.
(e) (d) Any person aggrieved by any valuation of timberland
may file a written objection to the valuation with the county
assessor on or before the fifteenth day of January of the
assessment year. The written objection shall then be treated as a
protest filed by the taxpayer under section twenty-four-a, article
three of this chapter. If any person fails to exhaust the
administrative and judicial remedies provided in said section, that
person shall be barred from taking any further administrative or
judicial action regarding the classification of the property for
that assessment year.
(f) (e) Upon request of the tax commissioner or the assessor
or county commission of the county in which the managed timberland is located, the director of the division of forestry shall inspect
the property and determine whether or not the property continues to
qualify for preferential valuation as managed timberland under this
article. In the event the director of forestry determines that a
property does not qualify as managed timberland due to a change in
its use, or it is discovered that a material misstatement of fact
was made by the owner of the property in the certification of the
property as managed timberland under subdivision (1), subsection
(d), section ten of this article, or it is discovered that the
property owner is not complying with the terms of the managed
timberland plan, including any period of time for coming into
compliance granted the owner by the director of forestry, the
director shall give written notice to the owner of the property by
certified mail, return receipt requested, the tax commissioner and
the assessor of each county in which the property is located that
the certification of the property as managed timberland is revoked.
(g) (f) The aggrieved owner of the property which had its
managed timberland certification revoked pursuant to any provision
of this code may, at any time up to sixty days from the date of
notification from the director of forestry, petition the circuit
court of the county in which the property is located for relief.
(h) (g) The provisions of this section shall apply to tax years beginning on or after the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine.