ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 510
(By Senators Prezioso, Craigo, Sprouse, Plymale,
McKenzie, Mitchell, Sharpe, Ross, Bowman, Jackson,
Minard, Kessler, Unger and Ball)
____________
[Passed March 2, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
____________
AN ACT to amend and reenact section five-n, article ten, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section one, article two, chapter twelve of said code, all
relating to payment of taxes and other amounts due state;
permitting taxes to be paid by credit, charge or debit card
or other commercially acceptable means; authorizing the tax
commissioner to promulgate legislative rules; setting forth
special provisions for the use of credit, debit or charge
cards; and providing for confidentiality of information.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five-n, article ten, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section one, article
two, chapter twelve of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 10. PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION.
§11-10-5n. Payment by commercially acceptable means.
(a)
Authority to receive. -- The tax commissioner may
receive in payment for taxes or fees collected under this article
(or in payment for excise tax stamps and tax crowns) any
commercially acceptable means that the commissioner considers
appropriate to the extent and under the conditions provided in
rules proposed by the commissioner for legislative approval in
accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code.
(b)
Ultimate liability. -- If a check, money order or other
method of payment, including payment by credit card, debit card
or charge card received in payment of taxes or fees or tax stamps
or crowns is not duly paid, or is paid and subsequently charged
back to the tax commissioner, the person by whom the check, money
order or other method of payment was tendered remains liable for
payment of the tax or fee or for the tax stamps or crowns, and
for all legal penalties and additions thereto, to the same extent
as if the check, money order or other method of payment had not been tendered.
(c)
Liability of bank and others. -- If any certified,
treasurer's or cashier's check (or other guaranteed draft), any
money order or any means of payment that has been guaranteed by
a financial organization (such as a credit card, debit card or
charge card transaction which has been guaranteed expressly by a
financial organization), is received for payment of taxes or fees
or tax stamps or crowns and is not duly paid, the state of West
Virginia shall, in addition to its right to exact payment from
the party originally indebted therefor, have a lien for:
(1) The amount of the check (or draft) upon all the assets
of the financial institution on which it is drawn;
(2) The amount of the money order upon all the assets of the
issuer thereof; or
(3) The guaranteed amount of any other transaction upon all
assets of the institution making the guarantee; and the amount
shall be paid out of the assets in preference to any other claims
whatsoever against the financial institution, issuer or
guaranteeing institution, except the necessary costs and expenses
of administration and perfected liens that are prior in time.
(d)
Bad check charge. -- If any check or money order
tendered in payment of any amount of tax or fee or tax stamps or
crowns or any interest, additions to tax or penalties is not duly paid, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law,
there shall be paid as a penalty by the person who tendered the
check, upon written notice and demand by the tax commissioner, in
the same manner as tax, an amount equal to the service charge
which the bank or other financial institution charged the state
for each check returned to the tax commissioner because the
account is closed or there are insufficient funds in the account.
(
e)Payment by other means. --
(1)
Authority to prescribe rule. -- The tax commissioner
shall propose rules for legislative approval, in accordance with
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, as the tax
commissioner considers necessary to receive payment by
commercially acceptable means, including rules that:
(A) Specify which methods of payment by commercially
acceptable means are acceptable;
(B) Specify when payment by those means shall be considered
received;
(C) Identify types of nontax matters related to payment by
those means that are to be resolved by persons ultimately liable
for payment and financial intermediaries, without the involvement
of the tax commissioner; and
(D) Ensure that tax matters shall be resolved by the tax
commissioner, without the involvement of financial intermediaries.
(2)
Obtaining services.-- The tax commissioner shall use the
state treasurer's contracts and system for receiving payments by
credit card, debit card, charge card or any other commercially
acceptable means. The tax commissioner may not pay any fee or
provide any other consideration in obtaining these services. The
state treasurer may not pay any fee or provide any consideration
for receiving payments of taxes or fees (or in payment for excise
tax stamps and tax crowns) described in this section by credit
card, debit card, charge card or any other commercially
acceptable means, and any cost for processing the payment shall
be included, in advance, in the amount of the transaction and
assessed to the party making the payment.
(3)
Special provisions for use of credit cards. -- If use
of credit cards is accepted as a method of payment of taxes
pursuant to subsection (a):
(A) To the extent allowed under federal law, a payment of
taxes or fees collected under this article (or in payment for
excise tax stamps and tax crowns) by a person by use of a credit
card shall not be subject to section 161 of the Truth in Lending
Act (15 U.S.C. 1666), or to any similar provisions of state law,
if the error alleged by the person is an error relating to the
underlying tax liability, rather than an error relating to the credit card account such as a computational error or numerical
transposition in the credit card transaction or an issue as to
whether the person authorized payment by use of the credit card;
(B) To the extent allowed under federal law, a payment of
taxes or fees collected under this article (or in payment for
excise tax stamps and tax crowns) shall not be subject to section
170 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1666i), or to any
similar provisions of state law;
(C) To the extent allowed under federal law, a payment of
taxes or fees collected under this article (or in payment for
excise tax stamps and tax crowns) by a person by use of a debit
card shall not be subject to section 908 of the Electronic Fund
Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693f), or to any similar provisions of
state law, if the error alleged by the person is an error
relating to the underlying tax liability, rather than an error
relating to the debit card account such as a computational error
or numerical transposition in the debit card transaction or an
issue as to whether the person authorized payment by use of the
debit card;
(D) To the extent allowed under federal law, the term
"creditor" under section 103(f) of the Truth in Lending Act (15
U.S.C. 1602 (f)) shall not include the tax commissioner with
respect to credit card transactions in payment of taxes or fees collected under this article (or in payment for excise tax stamps
and tax crowns); and
(E) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the
contrary, in the case of payment made by credit card or debit
card transaction of an amount owed to a person as the result of
the correction of an error under section 161 of the Truth in
Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1666) or section 908 of the Electronic
Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693f), the tax commissioner is
authorized to provide such amount to such person as a credit to
that person's credit card or debit card account through the
applicable credit card or debit card system.
(f)
Confidentiality of information. --
(1)
In general. -- Except as otherwise authorized by this
subsection, no person may use or disclose any information
relating to credit card, debit card or charge card transactions
other than for purposes directly related to the processing of the
transactions or the billing or collection of amounts charged or
debited pursuant thereto.
(2)
Exceptions. --
(A) Credit card, debit card or charge card issuers or others
acting on behalf of the issuers may also use and disclose the
information for purposes directly related to servicing an
issuer's accounts.
(B) Credit card, debit card or charge card issuers or others
directly involved in the processing of credit card, debit card or
charge card transactions or the billing or collection of amounts
charged or debited to the credit card, debit card or charge card,
may also use and disclose the information for purposes directly
related to:
(i) Statistical risk and profitability assessment;
(ii) Transferring receivables, accounts or interest therein;
(iii) Auditing the account information;
(iv) Complying with federal, state or local law; and
(v) Properly authorized civil, criminal or regulatory
investigation by federal, state or local authorities.
(3)
Procedures. -- Use and disclosure of information under
this paragraph shall be made only to the extent authorized by
written procedures promulgated by the tax commissioner.
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC MONEYS AND SECURITIES.
ARTICLE 2. PAYMENT AND DEPOSIT OF TAXES AND OTHER AMOUNTS DUE THE STATE OR ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.
§12-2-1. How and to whom taxes and other amounts due the state
or any political subdivision, official, department, board, commission or other collecting agency thereof may be paid.
All persons, firms and corporations shall promptly pay all taxes and other amounts due from them to the state, or to any
political subdivision, official, department, board, commission or
other collecting agency thereof authorized by law to collect the
taxes and other amounts due by any authorized commercially
acceptable means, in money, United States currency or by check,
bank draft, certified check, cashier's check, post office money
order or express money order payable and delivered to the
official, department, board, commission or collecting agency
thereof authorized by law to collect the taxes and other amounts
due and having the account upon which the taxes or amounts due
are chargeable against the payer of the taxes or amounts due.
The duly elected or appointed officers of the state and of its
political subdivisions, departments, boards, commissions and
collecting agencies having the account on which the taxes or
other amounts due are chargeable against the payer of the taxes
or other amounts due and authorized by law to collect the taxes
or other amounts due, and their respective agents, deputies,
assistants and employees shall in no case be the agent of the
payer in and about the collection of the taxes or other amounts,
but shall at all times and under all circumstances be the agent
of the state, its political subdivision, official, department,
board, commission or collecting agency having the account on
which the taxes or amounts are chargeable against the payer of the taxes or other amounts due and authorized by law to collect
the same.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
