COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4041
(By Delegates Laird and Pino)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 2, 2000]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article three,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to correcting
erroneous assessments generally; providing for the authority
of the sheriff or assessor to initiate an application for
relief on behalf of the taxpayer; providing the sheriff or
county commission the option of refunding taxes erroneously
assessed instead of crediting amount towards future tax
liability when more than one year has passed since property
books were delivered to the sheriff; limiting the time in
which taxpayer is repaid in the form of a credit; and
providing for refund of uncredited balance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-seven, article three, chapter eleven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-27. Relief in county commission from erroneous assessments.
(a) Any taxpayer, or the prosecuting attorney or tax
commissioner, upon behalf of the state, county and districts,
claiming to be aggrieved by any entry in the property books of
the county, including entries with respect to classification and
taxability of property, resulting from a clerical error, or a
mistake occasioned by an unintentional or inadvertent act as
distinguished from a mistake growing out of negligence or the
exercise of poor judgment, may, within one year from the time the
property books are delivered to the sheriff or within one year
from the time such clerical error or mistake is discovered or
reasonably could have been discovered, apply for relief to the
county commission of the county in which such books are made out:
Provided, That upon the discovery of any such clerical error or
mistake by the sheriff or the assessor, or either officer having
knowledge thereof, the sheriff or assessor shall initiate an
application for relief from the erroneous assessment on behalf of
the taxpayer or cause notice to be sent to any taxpayer affected
by the clerical error or mistake by first-class United States
mail advising the taxpayer of the right to make application from
for relief from the erroneous assessment. Before the application
is heard, the taxpayer shall give notice to the prosecuting
attorney of the county, or the state shall give notice to the
taxpayer, as the case may be. The application, whether by the taxpayer or the state, shall have precedence over all other
business before the court; but any order or judgment shall show
that either the prosecuting attorney or
the tax commissioner was
present defending the interests of the state, county and
districts:
Provided, however, That the provisions of this
section shall not be construed as giving county commissions
jurisdiction to consider any question involving the
classification or taxability of property which has been the
subject matter of an appeal under the provisions of section
twenty-four-a of this article; and any other such clerical error
or mistake involving the classification or taxability of
property, may be corrected by the county commission under the
provisions of this section only when approved, in writing, by the
county assessor.
(b) In the event it is ascertained that the applicant
taxpayer is entitled to relief, any excess taxes already paid
shall be refunded and, if charged but not paid, the applicant
shall be released from the payment of such excess: Provided,
That in the event a mistake or error is discovered more than one
year after the property books for the year or years in question
are delivered to the sheriff, any relief granted to the applicant
taxpayer shall be in the form of a credit against taxes owing for
up to the following year or years until the debt is paid two
years. Provided, That if there are insufficient future taxes to
credit or if the sheriff or county commission determines that a refund is appropriate, then the sheriff or county commission
shall refund the uncredited balance to the taxpayer.
(c) Whenever any correction is made by the county
commission, the clerk shall certify copies of the order to the
auditor, to the sheriff and to the assessor, and in the case of
real estate, the assessor shall thereupon make a correction in
accordance with the order in his or her landbook for the next
year. Any such order delivered to the sheriff or other
collecting officer shall restrain him or her from collecting so
much as is erroneously charged against the taxpayer, and, if
already collected, shall compel him or her to refund the money if
such officer has not already paid it into the treasury. In
either case, when indorsed by the person exonerated, it shall be
sufficient voucher to entitle the officer to a credit for so much
in his or her settlement which he or she is required to make. If
the applicant be is the state, the order certified to the sheriff
shall show the correct amount of taxes due the state, county and
districts and shall be sufficient to authorize collection in the
same manner as for other state, county and district taxes.
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