ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 395
(By Senators Wiedebusch and Buckalew)
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[Passed April 9, 1997; to take effect July 1, 1997.]
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AN ACT 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 the
municipality, public utility services and tangible personal
property from public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the
public service commission of West Virginia. The tax is computed
on the basis of an amount not to exceed two percent of the gross
amount of each periodic statement rendered purchasers or
consumers by public utilities:
Provided, 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. The
purchasers or consumers shall pay to 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 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 the tax.
Any ordinance imposing the tax shall require the collection
thereof uniformly from all purchasers and consumers of all the
services and property within the corporate limits of the
municipality and contain reasonable rules governing the
collection thereof by the utilities and the method of its payment
and accounting to the municipality:
Provided, That 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 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.