ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 395
(By Senators Wiedebusch and Buckalew)
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[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section five-a, article thirteen,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public
utilities tax imposed by municipalities and the exceptions
or exemptions thereto.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five-a, article thirteen, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
Part 1. Powers of Taxation.
§8-13-5a. Public utilities tax.
Every municipality has the plenary power and authority to levy and collect an excise tax on the privilege of purchasing,
using or consuming, within the corporate limits of
such the
municipality, public utility services and tangible personal
property from public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the
public service commission of West Virginia.
Such The tax is
computed on the basis of an amount not to exceed two percent of
the gross amount of each periodic statement rendered
such
purchasers or consumers by
such public utilities:
Provided,
however, That sales of tangible personal property such as
appliances or the like, as distinguished from the public service
supplied, are not included in the gross amount subject to the
measure of this tax:
Provided, however, That this tax does not
apply to sales of telecommunications services to another
telecommunications provider for the purposes of access,
interconnection or resale to consumers. Charges or fees for
items on the periodic statement that are not public utility
services, including surcharges for telecommunications relay
services for the hearing impaired and fees for enhanced emergency
telephone systems, are not included in the gross amount subject
to the measure of this tax. Such The purchasers or consumers
shall pay to
such the public utilities the amount of the tax
levied pursuant to this section which is added to and constitutes
a part of the cost of the service or property so purchased or consumed and is collectible as such by
said the public utilities
who shall account to the municipality levying same for all tax
paid by the purchasers or consumers pursuant to the provisions of
any ordinance imposing
such the tax.
Any ordinance imposing
such the tax shall require the
collection thereof uniformly from all purchasers and consumers of
all the services and property within the corporate limits of
such
the municipality and contain reasonable rules
and regulations
governing the collection thereof by the utilities and the method
of its payment and accounting to the municipality:
Provided,
That
such the tax is not effective until the municipality gives
sixty days written notice by certified mail to any utility doing
business therein of the effective date of the ordinance. Any
required separation of gross income shall occur in
said the
ordinance whenever necessary to comply with state or federal law:
Provided, however, That the tax authorized by this section may
not be levied upon charges for telephone services which are paid
by the insertion of coins into coin-operated telephones, and
specific charges for telephone calls to points outside the taxing
municipality:
Provided further, That specific charges for
telephone calls to points outside the taxing municipality is
construed to mean separately itemized or bulk-billed charges for
long distance telecommunications service to points outside the local exchange service area. The charges subject to the tax
authorized by this section include local usage charges applicable
to telephone calls originating within the corporate limits of the
municipality which imposes the tax, regardless of where the calls
terminate, and also include the federal subscriber line charge.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law to the
contrary contained in the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, the provisions of this
section are in addition to all other taxing authority heretofore
granted municipalities.