SB 672 Text

ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 672
(Senator McCabe, original sponsor)
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[Passed March 10, 2007; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §11-6C-1, §11-6C-2, §11-6C-3, §11-6C-4 and §11-6C-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the special method for appraising dealer vehicle inventory generally; including dealer boat inventory and daily passenger rental car inventory in the special method for appraising dealer vehicle inventory; providing the method for determining the market value of passenger rental cars held in inventory of daily passenger car rental businesses; providing the method for determining the market value of dealer motorboat inventory held by a recreational vehicle dealer; and providing the method for determining the market value of house trailers and factory-built homes .

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-6C-1, §11-6C-2, §11-6C-3, §11-6C-4 and §11-6C-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6C. SPECIAL METHOD FOR APPRAISING DEALER VEHICLE INVENTORY, DEALER MOTORBOAT INVENTORY, DAILY PASSENGER RENTAL CAR INVENTORY, AND HOUSE TRAILER AND FACTORY-BUILT HOMES INVENTORY.

§11-6C-1. Inventory included within scope of article.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, inventory of vehicles, as that term is defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-b of this code that is held for sale or lease by new or used vehicle dealers licensed under the provisions of article six, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or held for sale or lease by daily passenger car rental businesses licensed under the provisions of article six-d of said chapter and inventory of motorboats, as that term is defined in section one, article six of said chapter, that is held for sale or lease by a recreational vehicle dealer, as that term is defined in said section, that is licensed under the authority of section three, article six of said chapter, consisting of individual units of personal new or used property, each unit of which, upon its sale to a retail purchaser, must, as a matter of law, be titled in the name of the retail purchaser and registered with the Division of Motor Vehicles, shall be appraised for assessment purposes, as set forth in this article: Provided, That house trailers and factory-built homes shall be included within the scope of this article.
This article does not apply to units of inventory which are included in fleet sales, transactions between dealers or classified as heavy duty trucks of sixteen thousand pounds or more gross vehicular weight. For purposes of this article, inventory subject to the provisions of this article shall be denoted "dealer vehicle inventory", "dealer motorboat inventory", "daily passenger rental car inventory" and "house trailer and factory-built homes inventory".

§11-6C-2. Method for determining market value of dealer vehicle inventory, dealer motorboat inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory and house trailer and factory-built homes inventory.

(a) For purposes of appraisal, the market value of dealer vehicle inventory and dealer motorboat inventory, as of the first day of July of each year, shall be the gross sales or total annual sales of such inventory made by such dealer during the preceding calendar year, divided by twelve, for a dealer with respect to which or whom sales were made during the entire preceding year. For the purposes of this article, "gross sales" or "total annual sales" means the amount received in money, credits, property, services or other consideration from sales within this state without deduction on account of the cost of the property sold, amounts paid for interest or any other expenses whatsoever. Gross sales or total annual sales shall not be reduced by the value of an item of tangible personal property which is traded in for the purpose of reducing the purchase price of the item purchased. In the case of dealers who were not in business during the entire calendar year immediately preceding the first day of July of that calendar year, the assessor shall estimate the market value of such inventory based on such data as may be available to him or her: Provided, That the assessor may extrapolate estimates using such sales data as may be available and reliable when sales are made for a period of three months or more during the prior year: Provided, however, That there shall be excluded from the appraisal calculations the value of those units which were not physically held as inventory by the owner of the inventory at any time during the preceding year. In all cases, the market value, so derived, shall serve as the basis for calculating the appraised value.
(b) For purposes of appraisal, the market value of daily passenger rental car inventory, as of the first day of July of each year, shall be the gross value of all daily passenger rental cars made available by a daily passenger rental car business on the first day of each month of the immediately preceding calendar year: Provided, That the daily passenger rental car business shall add together the gross values and divide that sum by twelve. For purposes of this article, "gross value" means the lowest value for each vehicle as shown in a nationally accepted used car guide determined by the Tax Commissioner. To calculate the "gross value" of any vehicle that does not appear in a nationally accepted used car guide, the Tax Commissioner shall determine the percent of the manufacturer's suggested retail price for each such vehicle held as a daily passenger rental car without deduction on account of the cost of any inventory, amounts paid for interest or any other expenses whatsoever. In the case of daily passenger rental car businesses that were not in business during the entire calendar year immediately preceding the first day of July of that calendar year, the assessor shall estimate the market value of such daily passenger rental car inventory based on such data as may be available to him or her: Provided, however, That the assessor may extrapolate estimates using the daily passenger rental car data that is made available and reliable when rentals were made for a period of three months or more during the prior year: Provided further, That there shall be excluded from the appraisal calculations the value of those units which were not physically held as daily passenger rental car inventory by the owner of the daily passenger rental car inventory at any time during the preceding year. In all cases, the gross value of daily passenger rental car inventory, so derived, shall serve as the basis for calculating the appraised value of the inventory. For purposes of this article, "daily passenger rental car inventory" includes all motor vehicles licensed as a class A motor vehicle as defined in section one, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this code.
(c) For purposes of appraisal, the market value of house trailer and factory-built homes inventory, as of the first day of July of each year, shall be the gross sales or total annual sales of such inventory made by such dealer during the preceding calendar year, divided by twelve, for a dealer with respect to which or whom sales were made during the entire preceding year. For the purposes of this article, "gross sales" or "total annual sales" means the amount received in money, credits, property, services or other consideration from sales within this state without deduction on account of the cost of the property sold, amounts paid for interest or any other expenses whatsoever. Gross sales or total annual sales shall not be reduced by the value of an item of tangible personal property which is traded in for the purpose of reducing the purchase price of the item purchased. In the case of dealers who were not in business during the entire calendar year immediately preceding the first day of July of that calendar year, the assessor shall estimate the market value of such inventory based on such data as may be available to him or her: Provided, That the assessor may extrapolate estimates using such sales data as may be available and reliable when sales are made for a period of three months or more during the prior year: Provided, however, That there shall be excluded from the appraisal calculations the value of those units which were not physically held as inventory by the owner of the inventory at any time during the preceding year. In all cases, the market value, so derived, shall serve as the basis for calculating the appraised value.
§11-6C-3. Owner to file return estimating market value.
The owner of dealer vehicle inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory, dealer motorboat inventory, or house trailer and factory-built homes inventory shall report the market value of such inventory, derived as set forth in section two of this article, to the assessor, as a part of the return required by law to be filed annually pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

§11-6C-4. Determination of tax on dealer vehicle inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory, dealer motorboat inventory, or house trailer and factory-built homes inventory.

The annual amount of tax levied upon the dealer vehicle inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory, dealer motorboat inventory or house trailer and factory-built homes inventory pursuant to article eight of this chapter shall be based upon the market value as determined pursuant to this article, times the assessment percentage then provided by law.

§11-6C-5. Intent of this article; Tax Commissioner to promulgate rules.

(a) This article is adopted to address the lack of uniformity, audit difficulties and business management issues arising in this state with respect to the assessment of the personal property held as new and used dealer vehicle inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory, dealer motorboat inventory or house trailer and factory-built homes inventory. Accordingly, the Legislature finds and declares that the adoption of this article will provide a more reliable and uniform method of determining market value of dealer vehicle inventory, daily passenger rental car inventory, dealer motorboat inventory or house trailer and factory-built homes inventory; minimize audit problems associated with such property; provide a predictable revenue stream for levying bodies; maximize the owner's ability to manage inventory; and provide clear guidance to local authorities by superseding the wide variety of otherwise lawful appraisal methods now in use in this state.
(b) The Tax Commissioner shall have the power to promulgate such rules as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this article .

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