H. B. 4531
(By Delegates Morgan, Craig, Leach,
Howard and Rick Thompson)
[Introduced February 13, 2006
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-3-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §11A-2-13 of said
code; and to amend and reenact §11A-3-2 and §11A-3-13 of said
code, all relating to increasing the interest rate to be
imposed by county assessors for real and personal property
found to have been omitted from the land and personal property
books from six percent to nine percent for the period of time
the property was omitted from the books; and, doubling the
amount of fees to be paid in order to redeem or purchase
delinquent property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-3-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §11A-2-13
of said code be amended
and reenacted; and that §11A-3-2 and §11A-3-13
of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-5. Correction of previous property books; entry of omitted property.
The assessor, in making out the land and personal property
books, shall correct any and every mistake he or she shall discover
in the books for any previous year.
When the assessor shall ascertain that any real or personal
property in his or her county liable to taxation, other than that
mentioned in the next succeeding paragraph, has been omitted from
the land or personal property books for a period of less than five
years, he or she shall make an entry thereof in the proper book of
the year in which the omission was discovered and assess the same,
according to the rule prescribed in section one of this article,
and shall charge the same with all taxes chargeable against it at
the rate of levy for the year or years the same was omitted,
together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent per annum
for the years the same was omitted from the books: Provided, That
if the taxpayer requires proof of payment of personal property
taxes pursuant to section three-a, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of this code, then the taxpayer shall file a listing of
all personal property owned on the assessment date preceding the
tax year or years for which proof must be shown. The assessor
shall then create a supplemental assessment for the year or years
required for proof of payment for all personal property taxes
provided on the listing and present the supplemental assessment to
the sheriff who shall apply the levy rate or rates for the year or
years so assessed and prepare a tax bill and collect the taxes
together with interest thereon at the rate of six nine percent per annum for the years the same was omitted from the books and any
penalties included thereon: Provided, however, That any person who
has been a resident of the state less than one year prior to the
assessment date shall not be required to pay any interest or
penalty.
And when the assessor shall ascertain that any notes, bonds,
bills and accounts receivable, stocks and other intangible personal
property in his or her county liable to taxation has been omitted
from the personal property books for a period of five years or less
after the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-two, he or she shall make entry thereof in the personal
property book of the year in which the omission was discovered and
assess the same at its true and actual value, according to the rule
prescribed in section one of this article, and shall charge the
same with all taxes chargeable against it after the year last
aforesaid at the rate of levy for the year or years the same was
omitted after the year aforesaid, together with interest thereon at
the rate of six nine percent per annum for the years the same was
omitted from the books.
Any assessor failing to make an entry as in this section
provided, when discovered by him or her or called to his or her
attention by any taxpayer interested therein, shall forfeit one
hundred dollars.
ARTICLE 2. DELINQUENCY AND METHODS OF ENFORCING PAYMENT.
§11A-2-13. Publication and posting of delinquent tax lists.
A copy of each of the delinquent lists shall be posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county at least two weeks
before the session of the county commission at which they are to be
presented for examination. At the same time a copy of each list
shall be published as a Class I-O legal advertisement in compliance
with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this
code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the
county. Only the aggregate amount of the taxes owed by each person
need be published. To cover the costs of preparing, publishing and
posting the delinquent lists, a charge of ten twenty dollars shall
be added to the taxes and interest already due on each item listed.
Any person whose taxes were delinquent on May first may have
his or her name removed from the delinquent lists prior to the time
the same is delivered to the newspapers for publication by paying
to the sheriff the full amount of the taxes and costs owed by such
person at the date of such redemption. The sheriff shall collect
a charge of only three dollars if redemption is made before the
list is delivered for publication. Costs collected by the sheriff
hereunder which are not expended for publication shall be paid into
the general county fund.
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-2. Second publication of list of delinquent real estate;
notice.
(a) On or before the tenth day of September of each year, the
sheriff shall prepare a second list of delinquent lands, which
shall include all real estate in his or her county remaining delinquent as of the first day of September, together with a notice
of sale, in form or effect as follows:
Notice is hereby given that tax liens for the following
described tracts or lots of land or undivided interests therein in
the County of ________________ which are delinquent for the
nonpayment of taxes for the year (or years) 19 20____, will be
offered for sale by the undersigned sheriff (or collector) at
public auction at the front door of the courthouse of the county,
between the hours of nine in the morning and four in the afternoon,
on the _____ day of _________________,19 20____.
Tax liens on each unredeemed tract or lot, or each unredeemed
part thereof or undivided interest therein, will be sold at public
auction to the highest bidder in an amount which shall not be less
than the taxes, interest and charges which shall be due thereon to
the date of sale, as set forth in the following table:
|
Name of person
charged with
taxes
|
Quantity of
land
|
Local
description
|
Total amount
of taxes,
interest and
charges due to
date of sale
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any of the aforesaid tracts or lots, or part thereof or an
undivided interest therein, may be redeemed by the payment to the
undersigned sheriff (or collector) before sale, of the total amount
of taxes, interest and charges due thereon up to the date of redemption.
Given under my hand this _____________ day of
_____________________,19 20____.
__________________________
Sheriff (or collector).
The sheriff shall publish the list and notice prior to the
sale date fixed in the notice as a Class III-0 legal advertisement
in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such
publication shall be the county.
(b) In addition to such publication, no less than thirty days
prior to the sale the sheriff shall send a notice of the
delinquency and the date of sale by certified mail: (1) To the
last known address of each person listed in the land books whose
taxes are delinquent; (2) to each person having a lien on real
property upon which the taxes are due as disclosed by a statement
filed with the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of section three
of this article; (3) to each other person with an interest in the
property or with a fiduciary relationship to a person with an
interest in the property who has in writing delivered to the
sheriff on a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner a request for
such notice of delinquency; and (4) in the case of property which
includes a mineral interest but does not include an interest in the
surface other than an interest for the purpose of developing the
minerals, to each person who has in writing delivered to the
sheriff, on a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner, a request for such notice which identifies the person as an owner of an
interest in the surface of real property that is included in the
boundaries of such property:
Provided, That in a case where one
owner owns more than one parcel of real property upon which taxes
are delinquent, the sheriff may, at his
or her option, mail
separate notices to the owner and each lienholder for each parcel
or may prepare and mail to the owner and each lienholder a single
notice which pertains to all such delinquent parcels. If the
sheriff elects to mail only one notice, that notice shall set forth
a legally sufficient description of all parcels of property on
which taxes are delinquent. In no event shall failure to receive
the mailed notice by the landowner or lienholder affect the
validity of the title of the property conveyed if it is conveyed
pursuant to section twenty-seven or fifty-nine of this article.
(c)(1) To cover the cost of preparing and publishing the
second delinquent list, a charge of
twelve dollars and fifty cents
twenty-five dollars shall be added to the taxes, interest and
charges already due on each item and all such charges shall be
stated in the list as a part of the total amount due.
(2) To cover the cost of preparing and mailing notice to the
landowner, lienholder or any other person entitled thereto pursuant
to this section, a charge of
five ten dollars per addressee shall
be added to the taxes, interest and charges already due on each
item and all such charges shall be stated in the list as a part of
the total amount due.
(d) Any person whose taxes were delinquent on the first day of September may have his or her name removed from the delinquent list
prior to the time the same is delivered to the newspapers for
publication by paying to the sheriff the full amount of taxes and
costs owed by the person at the date of such redemption. In such
case, the sheriff shall include but three dollars of the costs
provided in this section in making such redemption. Costs
collected by the sheriff hereunder which are not expended for
publication and mailing shall be paid into the general county fund.
§11A-3-13. Publication by sheriff of sales list.
Within one month after completion of the sale, the sheriff
shall prepare and publish a list of all the sales and
certifications made by him, in form or effect as follows, which
list shall be published as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall
be the county.
List of tax liens on real estate sold in the county of
____________________________________________, in the month (or
months) of _____________________________,
19 20____,
for
nonpayment of taxes thereon for the year (or years)
19 20____,
and
purchased by individuals or certified to the Auditor of the State
of West Virginia:
Name of
person
charged
with
taxes
|
Local
description
of
lands
|
Quantity
of land
charged
|
Quantity
of land
for which
tax lien
is sold
|
Name
of
purchaser
|
Whole
amount
paid by
purchaser
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The owner of any real estate listed above, or any other person
entitled to pay the taxes thereon, may, however, redeem such real
estate as provided by law.
Given under my hand this _____________ day of
________________,19 20____.
__________________________________
Sheriff
To cover the costs of preparing and publishing such list, a
charge of seven dollars and fifty cents fifteen dollars shall be
added to the taxes, interest and charges already due on each item
listed.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the interest
rate and related fees to be imposed by county assessors. First,
for real and personal property found to have been omitted from the
land and personal property books, the current interest rate of six
percent would increase to nine percent for the period of time the
property was omitted from the books. Second, fees related to the
redemption or sale of the delinqent property would double.
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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