H. B. 3257
(By Delegates Michael, Kominar Craig and Pino)
[Introduced March 25, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-10A-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the Office of Tax Appeals; and
providing for certain exceptions to the sixty-day time limit
for filing a petition to appeal a decision of the Tax
Commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-10A-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10A. WEST VIRGINIA OFFICE OF TAX APPEALS.
§11-10A-9. Appeal to Office of Tax Appeals; petition; answer.
(a) A proceeding before the Office of Tax Appeals appealing a
tax assessment, a denial of a tax refund or credit or any other
order of the Tax Commissioner, or requesting a hearing pursuant to
the provisions of any article of this chapter which is administered
pursuant to article ten of this chapter, shall be initiated by a person timely filing a written petition that succinctly states:
(1) The nature of the case;
(2) The facts on which the appeal is based; and
(3) Each question presented for review by the Office of Tax
Appeals.
(b)
Except where a different time for filing a petition is
specified elsewhere in the code, a petition filed pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section is timely filed if postmarked or
hand delivered to the Office of Tax Appeals within sixty days of
the date a person received written notice of an assessment, denial
of a refund or credit, order or other decision of the Tax
Commissioner.
(c) The Office of Tax Appeals shall, within five days of
receipt of a timely petition filed pursuant to subsection (a) of
this section, provide the Tax Commissioner with a copy of the
petition. The Tax Commissioner shall submit a written answer to the
petition within forty days of his or her receipt of the petition.
The answer shall succinctly state:
(1) The nature of the case;
(2) The facts relied upon by the Commissioner;
(3) An answer to each question presented for review.
(d) A proceeding before the Office of Tax Appeals in other
matters conferred by statute or legislatively approved rules shall
be initiated by filing a petition with the Office of Tax Appeals in accordance with the provisions of the applicable statute or rule.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that the 60 day
time limit for filing an appeal with the Office of Tax Appeals does
not apply when other provisions of the West Virginia Code set forth
different times. For example, W. Va. Code §11-10-7(b) provides
that a taxpayer against whom a jeopardy assessment is made is
required to file a petition for reassessment within 20 days after
receiving notice of the jeopardy assessment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.