Senate Bill No. 510
(By Senators Prezioso, Craigo, Sprouse, Plymale,
McKenzie, Mitchell, Sharpe, Ross, Bowman, Jackson,
Minard, Kessler, Unger and Ball)
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[Introduced February 11, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL 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;
and permitting taxes to be paid by credit or debit card or
other commercially acceptable means.
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)
Check or money order unpaid 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.
(1) (b) Ultimate liability. -- If a check,
or money order
or
other method of payment, including payment by credit card, debit
card or charge card tendered 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
such the check,
or money order
or other method of payment
was tendered
shall remain 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
such
the check,
or money order
or other method of payment had not been
tendered.
(2) (c) Liability of bank and others. -- If any certified,
treasurer's or cashier's check (or other guaranteed draft),
or
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), tendered 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
such the check (or draft) upon all the
assets of the financial institution on which it is drawn;
or for
(2) The amount of
such the money order upon all the assets
of the insurer thereof;
or
(3) The guaranteed amount of any other transaction upon all
assets of the institution making the guarantee; and
such the
amount shall be paid out of the assets in preference to any other
claims whatsoever against
such the financial institution,
or
issuer
or guaranteeing institution, except the necessary costs
and expenses of administration and perfected liens that are prior
in time.
(b) (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
such
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) Authority to enter into contracts. -- The tax
commissioner may enter into contracts to obtain services related
to receiving payment by credit card, debit card, charge card or
other commercially acceptable means where cost beneficial to the
state. The tax commissioner may not pay any fee or provide any
other consideration under the contracts.
(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 or debit 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) Debit or credit 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) Debit or credit card issuers or others directly involved
in the processing of credit or debit card transactions or the
billing or collection of amounts charged or debited to the debit or credit 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
same taxes and others 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
same taxes and other
amounts due and having the account upon which
such the taxes or
amounts
due are chargeable against the payer
thereof 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
such the taxes or other amounts
due are chargeable against the
payer
thereof of the taxes or other amounts due and authorized by
law to collect the
same,
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
such 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
such the taxes or
amounts are chargeable against the payer
thereof of the taxes or
other amounts due and authorized by law to collect the same.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow taxes and fees
collected by the tax commissioner to be paid by credit card or
debit card.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.)
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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
on page ___, section five-n, line ___, after the word
"contracts" by changing the period to a semicolon;
On page ___, section five-n, after line ___, by inserting a
new subdivision, designated subdivision (3), to read as follows:
(3)
Special provisions for use of credit cards, debit cards
or charge cards. -- If use of credit cards, debit cards or charge
cards is accepted as a method of payment of taxes pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section:
(A) To the extent allowed under federal law, a payment of
taxes or fees (or payment for tax stamps or crowns) by a person
by use of a credit card, debit card or charge card is not subject
to Section 161 of the federal 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,
debit card or charge card account such as a computational error
or numerical transposition in the credit card, debit card or
charge card transaction or an issue as to whether the person
authorized payment by use of the credit card, debit card or charge card;
(B) To the extent allowed under federal law, a payment of
taxes or fees (or a payment for tax stamps) is not subject to
Section 170 of the federal 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 (or a payment for tax stamps or crowns) by a person
by use of a credit card, debit card or charge card is not subject
to Section 908 of the federal 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
credit card, debit card or charge card account such as a
computational error or numerical transposition in the credit
card, debit card or charge card transaction or an issue as to
whether the person authorized payment by use of the credit card,
debit card or charge card;
(D) To the extent allowed under federal law, the term
"creditor" under Section 103(f) of the federal Truth in Lending
Act, 15 U. S. C. §1602(f), shall not include the tax commissioner
with respect to credit card, debit card or charge card
transactions in payment of taxes or fees (or payment for tax
stamps); and
(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and to the extent permitted under federal law, in the
case of payment made by credit card, debit card or charge card
transaction of an amount owed to a person as the result of the
correction of an error under Section 161 of the federal Truth in
Lending Act, 15 U. S. C. §1666, or Section 908 of the federal
Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 15 U. S. C. §1693f, the tax
commissioner may provide that amount to that person as a credit
to that person's credit card, debit card or charge card account
through the applicable credit card, debit card or charge card
system.;
On page ___, section five-n, line ___, by striking out the
words "or debit" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "card,
debit card or charge";
On page ___, section five-n, line ___, by striking out the
words "Debit or credit" and inserting in lieu thereof the words
"Credit card, debit card or charge";
On page ___, section five-n, line ___, by striking out the
words "Debit or credit" and inserting in lieu thereof the words
"Credit card, debit card or charge";
On page ___, section five-n, line ___, by striking out the
words "credit or debit" and inserting in lieu thereof the words
"credit card, debit card or charge";
On page ___, section five-n, line ___, by striking out the
words "debit or credit" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "credit card, debit card or charge".
And,
On page ___, by striking out the title and substituting
therefor a new title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 510--A Bill 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.
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