COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 484
(By Senators McCabe, Prezioso, Fanning, Boley, Plymale, K.
Facemyer, Wells and Minard)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 26, 2009.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-3-1, §11-3-2a, §11-3-10, §11-3-12,
§11-3-15, §11-3-19, §11-3-24, §11-3-24a and §11-3-25 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said Code by
adding thereto eleven new sections, designated §11-3-15a,
§11-3-15b, §11-3-15c, §11-3-15d, §11-3-15e, §11-3-15f,
§11-3-15g, §11-3-15h, §11-3-15i, §11-3-25a and §11-3-32; and
to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated
§11-6J-1, §11-6J-2, §11-6J-3, §11-6J-4, §11-6J-5, §11-6J-6 and
§11-6J-7, all relating to taxation of real and personal
property for ad valorem property tax purposes; making
technical corrections in certain code sections to conform to
prior acts of the Legislature; accelerating date for issuance
of notices of increase in assessed value of real property;
updating forfeiture penalties for failure to file required property tax reports and returns; clarifying report and return
filing requirements and accelerating due dates of such reports
and returns in order to provide property owners with greater
due process; requiring assessors to notify owners of
commercial business personal property of increases in assessed
values for current assessment year by specified date;
providing procedures for property owners to protest notices of
assessed valuation and obtain appropriate adjustments from
county assessors; appeal of protested assessments to county
board of equalization and review and circuit court; protest of
classification or taxability to Tax Commissioner; specifying
effective dates; providing methods for assessment of
industrial property and natural resources property; time and
basis for assessments; providing definitions; specifying form
and manner of making returns; penalties for failure to file;
tentative appraisals by Tax Commissioner and notification to
taxpayers; providing procedures for informal review of
tentative appraisals; making of final appraisals; transmitting
to assessors; appeals; and specifying effective dates.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-3-1, §11-3-2a, §11-3-10, §11-3-12, §11-3-15,§11-3-19,
§11-3-24, §11-3-24a and §11-3-25 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by
adding thereto eleven new sections, designated §11-3-15a, §11-3-15b, §11-3-15c, §11-3-15d, §11-3-15e, §11-3-15f, §11-3-15g, §11-3-15h,
§11-3-15i, §11-3-25a and §11-3-32; and that said code be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated §11-6J-1, §11-6J-2,
§11-6J-3, §11-6J-4, §11-6J-5, §11-6J-6 and §11-6J-7, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-1. Time and basis of assessments; true and actual value;
default; reassessment; special assessors; criminal
penalty.
(a) All property,
except public service businesses assessed
pursuant to article six of this chapter and industrial property and
natural resources property assessed pursuant to article six-j of
this chapter and section ten, article one-c of this chapter, shall
be assessed annually as of July 1 at
sixty percent of its true and
actual value, that is to say, at the price for which
such the
property would sell if voluntarily offered for sale by the owner
thereof, upon
such the terms as
such the property, the value of
which is sought to be ascertained, is usually sold, and not the
price which might be realized if
such the property were sold at a
forced sale
except that.
(b) Any conflicting provisions of subsection (a) of this
section notwithstanding, the true and actual value of all property
owned, used and occupied by the owner thereof exclusively for
residential purposes shall be arrived at by giving primary, but not exclusive, consideration to the fair and reasonable amount of income
which the same might be expected to earn, under normal conditions
in the locality wherein situated, if rented:
Provided, That the
true and actual value of all farms used, occupied and cultivated by
their owners or bona fide tenants shall be arrived at according to
the fair and reasonable value of the property for the purpose for
which it is actually used regardless of what the value of the
property would be if used for some other purpose; and that the true
and actual value shall be arrived at by giving consideration to the
fair and reasonable income which the same might be expected to earn
under normal conditions in the locality wherein situated, if rented:
Provided, however, That nothing herein shall alter the method of
assessment of lands or minerals owned by domestic or foreign
corporations.
(c) The taxes upon all property shall be paid by those who are
the owners thereof on
that the first day
of the assessment year
whether it be assessed to them or others.
(d) If at any time after the beginning of the assessment year,
it be ascertained by the Tax Commissioner that the assessor, or any
of his
or her deputies, is not complying with this provision or that
he has they have failed, neglected or refused, or is failing,
neglecting or refusing after five days' notice to list and assess
all property therein at
sixty percent of its true and actual value
as determined under this chapter, the Tax Commissioner may order and direct a reassessment of any or all of the property in any county,
district or municipality, where any assessor, or deputy, fails,
neglects or refuses to assess the property in the manner herein
provided. And, for the purpose of making
such assessment and
correction of values, the Tax Commissioner may appoint one or more
special assessors, as necessity may require, to make
such assessment
in any
such county and any such special assessor or assessors, as
the case may be,
shall have all has the power and authority now
vested by law in assessors, and the work of such special assessor
or assessors shall be accepted and treated for all purposes by the
county boards of review and equalization and the levying bodies,
subject to any revisions of value on appeal, as the true and lawful
assessment of that year as to all property valued by him
or her or
them. The Tax Commissioner shall
with the approval of the board of
public works, fix the compensation of all
such special assessors
as
may be designated by him appointed, which, together with their
actual expenses, shall be paid out of the county fund by the county
commission of the county in which any such assessment is ordered,
upon the receipt of a certificate of the Tax Commissioner filed with
the clerk of the county commission showing the amounts due and to
whom payable, after such expenses have been audited by the county
commission.
(e) Any assessor who knowingly fails, neglects or refuses to
assess all the property of his
or her county, as herein provided, shall be guilty of malfeasance in office and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500, or
imprisoned
in the county jail not less than three nor more than six
months, or both, in the discretion of the court, and upon
conviction, shall be removed from office.
(f) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
meaning ascribed to them in this section unless the context in which
the term is used clearly indicates that a different meaning is
intended by the Legislature:
(1) "Assessment year" means the twelve-month period that begins
on July 1 of the year preceding the tax year: Provided, That in the
case of industrial or natural resources property appraised by the
Tax Commissioner, "assessment year" means the twelve-month period
that begins on the first day of January of the year preceding the
tax year.
(2) "Tax year" or "property tax year" means the calendar year
in which property taxes for that tax year are first due to be paid.
(3) "Taxpayer" means the owner and any other person in whose
name the taxes on the subject property are assessed.
§11-3-2a. Notice of increased assessment required for real
property; exceptions to notice
.
(a) If the assessor determines the assessed valuation of any
item of real property
appraised by him or her is more than ten
percent greater than the valuation assessed for that item in the last tax year, the increase is $1,000 or more and the increase is
entered in the property books as provided in section nineteen of
this article, the assessor shall give notice of the increase to the
person assessed or the person controlling the property as provided
in section two of this article. The notice shall be given
at least
fifteen days prior to the first meeting in February at which the
county commission meets as the board of equalization and review for
that on or before January 15 of the tax year and advise the person
assessed or the person controlling the property of his or her right
to appear and seek an adjustment in the assessment:
Provided, That
this notification requirement does not apply to industrial or
natural resources property appraised by the Tax Commissioner under
article six-j of this chapter which is assessed at sixty percent of
its appraised value as determined by the Tax Commissioner. The
notice shall be made by first-class United States postage mailed to
the address of the person assessed or the person controlling the
property for payment of tax on the item in the previous year, unless
there was a general increase of the entire valuation in any one or
more
tax districts in which case the notice shall be by publication
of the notice by a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with
the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
The area for the publication is the county. The requirement of
notice under this section is satisfied and waived if personal notice
of the increase is shown by:
(1) The taxpayer having signed the assessment form after it had
been completed showing the increase;
(2) Notice was given as provided in section three-a of this
article; or
(3) The person
so assessed executing acknowledgment of the
notice of the increase.
(b) During the initial reappraisal of all property under
section seven, article one-c of this chapter, the Tax Commissioner
and each county assessor shall send every person owning or
controlling property appraised by the Tax Commissioner or the county
assessor
, as the case may be, a pamphlet which explains the
reappraisal process and its equalization goal in a detailed yet
informal manner. The property valuation training and procedures
commission, created under section three, article one-c of this
chapter, shall design the pamphlet for use in all counties while
allowing individual county information to be included if it
determines that the information would improve understanding of the
process.
§11-3-10. Failure to list property, etc.; collection of penalties
and forfeitures.
(a) If any person, firm or corporation, including public
service corporations, whose duty it is by law to list any real
estate or personal property for taxation, refuses to furnish a
proper list thereof or refuse to list within the time required by law, or if any person, firm or corporation, including public service
corporations, refuses to answer or answers falsely any question
asked by the assessor or by the Tax Commissioner, or fails or
refuses to deliver any statement required by law,
he, she or it the
person, firm or corporation may forfeit, at the discretion of the
assessor or the Tax Commissioner for good cause shown,
not less than
nor more than one hundred $25 for a first failure or refusal; $50
for a second failure or refusal; and $100 for a third and each
subsequent failure or refusal and for each third or subsequent
failure or refusal the person, firm or corporation shall be denied
all remedy provided by law for the correction of any assessment made
by the assessor or by the board of public works.
(b) If any person, firm or corporation, including public
service corporations, required by law to make return of property for
taxation, whether the return is to be made to the assessor, the
Board of Public Works, or any other assessing officer or body, fails
to return a true list of all property which should be assessed in
this state,
including notes, bonds, bills and accounts receivable,
stocks, and any other intangible personal property, the person, firm
or corporation, in addition to all other penalties provided by law,
shall forfeit one percent of the value of the property not yet
returned and not otherwise taxed in this state.
(c) A forfeiture as to all property aforesaid may be enforced
for any
such default occurring in any year not exceeding five years immediately prior to the time the default is discovered.
but no
liability to penalty or forfeiture as to notes, bonds, bills and
accounts receivable, stocks and other intangible personal property
arising prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-three, is enforceable on behalf of the state or of any of its
subdivisions
(d) Each failure to make a true return as herein required
constitutes a separate offense, and a forfeiture shall apply to each
of them, but all forfeitures, to which the same person, firm or
corporation is liable, shall be enforced in one proceeding against
the person, firm or corporation, or against the estate of any
deceased person, and may not exceed five percent of the value of the
property not returned
that is required to be returned for taxation
by this chapter.
(e) Forfeitures shall be collected as provided in article two,
chapter eleven-a of this code, the same as any tax liability,
against the defaulting taxpayer, or in case of a decedent, against
his or her personal representative. The sheriff shall apportion
such fund among the state, county, district, school district and
municipalities which would have been entitled to the taxes upon the
property if it had been assessed, in proportion to the rates of
taxation for each levying unit for the year in which the judgment
was obtained bears to the sum of rates for all.
(f) When the list of property returned by the appraisers of the estate of any deceased person shows an amount greater than the last
assessment list
of real and tangible personal property of the
deceased person next preceding the appraisal of
his or her estate,
it is prima facie evidence that the deceased person returned an
imperfect list of his or her property:
Provided, That any person
liable for the tax, or his or her personal representative, may
always be permitted to prove by competent evidence that the
discrepancy between the assessment list and the appraisal of the
estate is caused by a difference of valuation returned by the
assessor and that made by the appraisers of the same property or by
property acquired after assessment, or that any property enumerated
in the appraisers' list had been otherwise listed for taxation, or
that it was not liable for taxation.
(g) Any judgment recovered under this section is a lien, from
the time of the service of the notice, upon all real estate and
personal property of the defaulting taxpayer, owned at the time or
subsequently acquired, in preference to any other lien.
§11-3-12. Assessment of corporate property; reports to assessors
by corporations.
(a) Each incorporated company, banking institution and national
banking association, foreign or domestic, having its principal
office or chief place of business in this state, owning property
subject to taxation in this state, except railroad, telegraph and
express companies, telephone companies, pipeline, car line companies and other public utility companies, shall annually, between the
first day of the assessment year and
October September 1, make a
written report, verified by the oath of the president or chief
accounting officer, to the assessor of the county in which its
principal office or chief place of business is situated or in which
such property subject to taxation in this state is located if
such
the corporation does not have a principal office or chief place of
business in this state, showing the following items
, viz: (1)
The
amount of capital authorized to be employed by it; (2) the amount
of cash capital paid on each share of stock; (3) the amount of
credits and investments other than its own capital stock held by it
on said date, with their fair market value; (4) The quantity,
location and fair market value of all of its real estate, and tax
district or districts in which it is located; and
(5) (2) the kinds,
quantity and fair market value of all its tangible property in each
tax district in which it is located.
(b) The oath required for this section shall be substantially
as follows
, viz:
State of West Virginia, County .........., ss:
I, .........., president (treasurer or manager) of (here insert
name of corporation), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the
foregoing is, to the best of my knowledge and judgment, true in all
respects; that it contains a statement of all the real estate and
tangible personal property
including credits and investments belonging to said corporation; that the value affixed to such
property is, in my opinion, its value, by which I mean the price at
which it would sell if voluntarily offered for sale on such terms
as are usually employed in selling such property, and not the price
which might be realized at a forced or auction sale; and said
corporation has not, to my knowledge, during the sixty-day period
immediately prior to the first day of the assessment year converted
any of its assets into nontaxable securities or notes or other
evidence of indebtedness for the purposes of evading the assessment
of taxes thereon; so help me, God.
The officer administering
such the oath shall append thereto
the following certificate
, viz:
Subscribed and sworn to before me by .......... this the
.......... day of..........,
19 20 .....
....................
(c) The amendments to this section enacted in the year
one
thousand nine hundred ninety-seven 2009 shall be effective
beginning
for the tax year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight and
thereafter for assessment years beginning on and after July 1, 2010.
§11-3-15. Assessment of capital used in trade or business by
natural persons or unincorporated businesses.
(a) The value of the capital used by any individual or firm not
incorporated, in any trade or business taxable by law, shall be
ascertained in the following manner: The owner, agent or chief accountant of every
such trade or business, except the business of
agriculture, carried on in any county of the state, shall, annually,
between the first day of the assessment year and
November September
1 of the current year, make a written report as of the first day of
the assessment year, to the assessor, verified by his
or her
affidavit, showing the following matters and things
, viz:
(a) (1) The amount, the true and actual value and
classification of all tangible personal property used in connection
with
such the trade or business,
otherwise other than
such as is
that regularly kept for sale therein, including chattels real
and
personal;
(b) (2) The true and actual value and classification of all
goods and property kept for sale and remaining unsold;
and
(c) the amount in value of all credits arising out of any such
business and remaining unpaid on that date, whether due or not, and
whether in or out of the state;
(d) the amount and true and actual value of all notes, bonds,
bills, accounts receivable, stocks and other intangible property
made by such person or firm whether in or out of the state, other
than those hereinbefore specified;
(e) (3) The location, quantity, the true and actual value and
classification of all real estate owned by
such the individuals or
firm and used in
such the trade or business.
(b) The assessor shall, upon the receipt of such report, properly verified, if
he the assessor is satisfied with the
correctness thereof, enter the real estate in the land book of the
county in the tax district wherein the same is situated and assess
the same with taxes, if not otherwise assessed, to the owner
thereof:
Provided, That the personal property mentioned in
such the
report
he shall
enter be entered in the personal property book of
his the county for assessment with taxes as follows
, viz: Items
(a)
(1) and
(b) (2) shall be entered in the tax districts where they are
for the greater part of the year kept of any or located; and
items
(c), (d) and item (3) shall be entered under their appropriate
heading
s, in the municipality or tax district wherein the principal
place of business of
such the individual or firm is
and if located
in this state.
(c) If the assessor is not satisfied with the correctness of
such the report,
he the assessor may proceed to ascertain a correct
list of the property on which
such the individual or firm is liable
to be assessed with taxes, and to value the same as in other cases.
(d) The person making
such the report shall take and subscribe
an oath in substantially the following form:
I, ..............., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the
foregoing list is true and correct to the best of my knowledge; that
the value affixed to the property therein listed I believe to be the
true and actual value thereof; that none of the assets belonging to
(here state the name of individual or firm) and used in the business of (here describe the business) have to my knowledge, since the
first day of the assessment year, been converted into nontaxable
securities for the purpose of evading the assessment of taxes
thereon; so help me, God.
The officer administering
said the oath shall append thereto
the following certificate
, viz:
Subscribed and sworn to before me by (here insert affiant's
name) this ........... day of ...............,
19 20 ...........
§11-3-15a. Assessment of property of limited liability companies.
Limited liability companies that elect to be treated as a
corporation for federal income tax purposes shall make and file the
report required of corporations in section twelve of this article.
Limited liability companies treated as a partnership for federal
income tax purposes shall make and file the report required of
partnerships in section fourteen of this article. A limited
liability company that elects to be treated as a disregarded entity
for federal income tax purposes shall be treated as a disregarded
entity under this article and its owner shall make and file the
report required by section twelve or section fourteen of this
article depending upon whether the owner is a corporation, a firm
or an individual.
§11-3-15b. Notice of increase in assessed value of business
personal property.
(a) On or before January 15 of the tax year, the assessor shall mail a notice of assessed value to any corporation, partnership,
limited partnership, limited liability company, firm, association,
company or other form of organization engaging in business activity
in the county showing the aggregated assessed value of taxpayer's
tangible personal property situated in the county on July 1 of the
assessment year, if known, that is not appraised by the Tax
Commissioner:
Provided, That notice is only required if:
(1) The aggregated assessed value of taxpayer's tangible
personal property used in business activity is more than ten percent
greater than the aggregated assessed value of the property in the
prior tax year; and
(2) The aggregated assessed value of property has increased by
more than $100,000 since the prior tax year.
However, this notification requirement does not apply to
industrial or natural resources personal property that is appraised
by the Tax Commissioner under article six-j of this chapter which
is assessed at sixty percent of its appraised value as determined
by the Tax Commissioner.
(b) The assessor shall include in the assessment notice:
(1) The assessed value of the property for the preceding
assessment year and the taxes levied on that value;
(2) The proposed assessed value of the property for the current
assessment year and that taxes that may be levied on that value,
assuming the levy rates are neither increased or decreased;
(3) The classification of the property pursuant to section one,
Article X of the constitution of this state;
(4) The mailing date of the notice; and
(5) The last date on which the taxpayer may file a petition
for
review with the assessor from the valuation or classification
assigned to the property.
(c) The notice required by this section shall be in writing,
in the form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner, and mailed to the
taxpayer's last known mailing address.
(d) No later than the sixteenth day of the tax year, the
assessor shall certify to the county commission and to the Tax
Commissioner the date on which all notices under this section were
mailed.
(e) After the mailing date of the notice any person who owns,
claims, possesses or controls property that is valued by the
assessor may inquire of and be advised by the assessor as to the
valuation of the property determined by the assessor.
(f) The owner or person in possession of the tangible personal
property may petition the assessor for review as provided in section
fifteen-d of this article.
§11-3-15c. Petition for assessor review of improper valuation of
real property.
(a) A taxpayer who is of the opinion that his or her real
property has been valued too high or otherwise improperly valued or listed in the notice given as provided in section two-a of this
article may, but is not required to, file a petition for review with
the assessor on a written form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner.
This section shall not apply to industrial and natural resource
property appraised by the Tax Commissioner.
(b) The petition shall state the taxpayer's opinion of the true
and actual value of the property and substantial information that
justifies that opinion of value for the assessor to consider for
purposes of basing a change in classification or correction of the
valuation. For purposes of this subsection, the taxpayer provides
substantial information to justify the opinion of value by stating
the method or methods of valuation on which the opinion is based:
(1) Under the income approach, including the information
required in section fifteen-e of this article;
(2) Under the market approach, including the true and actual
value of at least one comparable property in the same geographic
area or the sale of the subject property; or
(3) Under the cost approach, including the cost to build or
rebuild the property plus the true and actual value of the land.
(c) The petition may include more than one parcel of property
if they are part of the same economic unit according to the Tax
Commissioner's guidelines or if they are owned by the same owner,
have the same use, are appealed on the same basis and are located
in the same tax district or in contiguous tax districts of the county, and are in a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner.
(d) The petition shall be filed within five days after the date
the taxpayer receives the notice of increased assessment under
section two-a of this article or the notice of increased value was
published as a Class II-0 legal advertisement as provided in that
section.
§11-3-15d. Administrative review of tangible personal property
valuation by assessor.
(a) The owner of business tangible personal property that is
valued by the assessor or the person in whose possession it is found
on July 1 of the assessment year may appeal to the assessor within
five days after the date the notice of increased assessment required
by section fifteen-b of this article was received by filing a
petition with the assessor on a form prescribed by the Tax
Commissioner. The petition shall set forth in writing:
(1) The taxpayer's opinion of the value of the tangible
personal property; and
(2) Substantial information that justifies the opinion of value
in order for the assessor to consider the information for the
purpose of basing a change in the valuation.
(b) The assessor shall rule on each petition within five days
after it is filed.
(c) The notice of the assessor's ruling provided under this
section shall be given in the same manner as prescribed in section fifteen-h of this article.
(d) If the request of the petitioner is denied, in whole or in
part, the notice required by subsection (c) of this section shall
include the grounds for refusing to grant the request contained in
the petition.
(e) This section shall not apply to tangible personal property
appraised by the Tax Commissioner as part of an industrial or
natural resource property appraisal.
§11-3-15e. Contents of petition based on income approach to value
of real property.
(a) A petition that is filed with the assessor under section
fifteen-c or fifteen-d of this article based on the income approach
to value shall include income and expense data relating to the
property for the three most recent consecutive fiscal years of the
petitioner ending on or before June 30 preceding the then current
assessment year. If the income and expense data is available to the
petitioner, the petitioner shall file with the petition such income
and expense data as is available. The Tax Commissioner, by rule,
may establish additional information to be filed if the required
income and expense data are not available.
(b) If a petitioner under this article uses the income approach
to determine valuation, the petitioner, an officer of a corporate
petitioner, a general partner or a designated agent shall file a
sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the petition is true and correct to the best of the
petitioner's knowledge.
§11-3-15f. Rejection of petition for failure to include
substantial information; amended petition; appeal.
If the assessor rejects a petition filed pursuant to section
fifteen-c, fifteen-d or fifteen-e of this article, the petitioner
may appeal to the county board of equalization and review as
provided in section twenty-four of this article.
§11-3-15g. Meeting between assessor and petitioner.
(a) At the petitioner's written request, the assessor or a
member of his or her staff shall meet with the petitioner and the
petitioner's representative, if any, at a time and place designated
at least three working days in advance by the assessor after the
petition is filed.
(b) If the petitioner is unable to appear and meet with the
assessor at the time and place set by the assessor, the petitioner
may submit written evidence to support the petition if it is
submitted before the date of the meeting.
§11-3-15h. Ruling on petition.
(a) In all cases the assessor shall consider the petition and
shall rule on each petition filed pursuant to section fifteen-c,
fifteen-d or fifteen-e of this article by January 28 of the
assessment year. Written notice shall be served by regular mail on
the person who filed the petition.
(b) In considering a petition filed pursuant to section
fifteen-c, fifteen-d or fifteen-e of this article, the assessor
shall consider the valuation fixed by the assessor on other similar
property that is similarly situated.
§11-3-15i. Petitioner's right to appeal.
(a) If the assessor grants the requested relief, the petitioner
may not appeal the ruling of the assessor.
(b) If the petitioner and the assessor reach an agreement
within five business days after the conclusion of the meeting held
as provided in section fifteen-g of this article, both parties shall
sign the agreement and both parties waive the right to further
appeal.
(c) If all or part of the petitioner's request under section
fifteen-c, fifteen-d or fifteen-e of this article is denied, the
assessor shall mail, on the date of the ruling, to the petitioner
at the address shown on the petition notice of the grounds of the
refusal to make the change or changes requested in the petition.
A petitioner whose request is denied, in whole or in part, or a
petitioner who does not receive a response from the assessor by
January 28, as provided in section fifteen-h of this article, may
file a protest with the county commission sitting as a board of
equalization and review, as provided in section twenty-four of this
article.
§11-3-19. Property books; time for completing; extension of levies; copies.
The assessor shall complete his the assessment and make up his
the assessor's official copy of the land and personal property books
in time to submit the same to the board of equalization and review
not later than February 1 of the assessment year. The assessor
shall, as soon as practicable after the levy is laid, extend the
levies on the land and personal property books, and shall forthwith
make three copies of the land books and two copies of the personal
property books with the levies extended. One of such the copies of
the land books he shall deliver be delivered to the sheriff not
later than June 7; one copy he shall deliver be delivered to the
clerk of the county court commission not later than July 1; and one
copy he shall send be sent to the State Auditor not later than July
1. and One of such the copies of the personal property books he
shall deliver be delivered to the sheriff and one copy shall be
delivered to the clerk of the county court commission on or before
the same date fixed above for the delivery of the land books. and
such The copies so delivered shall be official records of the
respective officers. He The assessor may require the written
receipt of each of such the officers for such copy. Before
delivering any of such the copies the assessor shall make and
subscribe the following oath at the foot of each of them:
I, ................., assessor of the county of .............,
do solemnly swear, (or affirm) that in making the foregoing assessment I have to the best of my knowledge and ability pursued
the law prescribing the duties of assessors and that I have not been
influenced in making the same by fear, favor or partiality; so help
me, God.
...............................................................
assessor.
The officer administering the foregoing oath shall append
thereto a certificate in substantially the following form:
Subscribed and sworn to before me, a .................. for the
County of .............. and State of West Virginia, by ..........,
assessor for said county, this the ...... day of .........., 19 20.
§11-3-24. Review and equalization by county commission.
(a) The county commission shall annually, not later than the
first day of February, meet as a board of equalization and review
for the purpose of reviewing and equalizing the assessment made by
the assessor. It The board shall not adjourn for longer than three
business days at a time until this work is completed and shall not
remain in session for a longer period than twenty-eight days and
shall not adjourn sine die before February 15.
(b) At the first meeting of the board, the assessor shall
submit the property books for the current year, which shall be
complete in every particular, except that the levies shall not be
extended. The assessor and his the assessor's assistants shall
attend and render every assistance possible in connection with the value of property assessed by them.
(c) The commission board shall proceed to examine and review
the property books, and shall add on the books the names of persons,
the value of personal property and the description and value of real
estate liable to assessment which was omitted by the assessor. They
The board shall correct all errors in the names of persons, in the
description and valuation of property, and they shall cause to be
done whatever else may be necessary to make the valuation assessed
valuations comply with the provisions of this chapter. But in no
case shall any question of classification or taxability be
considered or reviewed by the board.
(d) If the commission determine board determines that any
property or interest is assessed at more or less than sixty percent
of its true and actual value as determined under this chapter, it
shall fix it at the sixty percent of its true and actual value. But
no assessment shall be increased without giving the property owner
taxpayer at least five days' notice, in writing, and signed by the
president of the commission, of the intention to make the increase
and no assessment shall be greater than sixty percent of the
appraised value of property valued by the Tax Commissioner.
(e) Service of notice of the increase upon the property owner
taxpayer shall be sufficient, or upon his or her agent or attorney
in person, or if sent by registered or certified mail to such the
property owner, his or her agent, or attorney, at the last known place of abode mailing address of the person as shown in the records
of the assessor or the tax records of the county sheriff. If he such
person cannot be not found and have has no last known place of abode
mailing address, then notice shall be given by publication thereof
as a Class I 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. The date
of the publication shall be at least five days, not including a
Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday in this state, prior to the
increase. When it is desired the board intends to increase the
entire valuation in any one tax district by a general increase,
notice shall be given by publication thereof 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. The date of the last publication
shall be at least five days, not including a Saturday, Sunday or
legal holiday in this state, prior to the meeting at which the
increase in valuation is ordered by the board. When an increase is
made, the same valuation shall not again be changed unless notice
is again given as heretofore provided.
The clerk of the county commission shall publish notice of the
time, place and general purpose of the meeting as a Class II 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 involved. The expense of
publication shall be paid out of the county treasury.
(f) If any person a taxpayer fails to apply for relief at this
meeting, he the taxpayer shall have waived his the right to ask for
correction in his the assessment list for the current year, and
shall not thereafter be permitted to question the correctness of his
the list as finally fixed by the county commission board, except on
appeal to the circuit court or as otherwise provided in this
article. After the county commission board completes the review and
equalization of the property books, a majority of the commission
board shall sign a statement that it is the completed assessment of
the county for the year; then the property books shall be delivered
to the assessor and the levies extended as provided by law.
§11-3-24a. Protest of classification or taxability to assessor;
appeal to Tax Commissioner.
(a) At any time after property is returned for taxation and up
to and including the time the property books are before the county
court for county commission sitting as a board of equalization and
review, any taxpayer may apply to the assessor for information
regarding the classification and taxability of his the taxpayer's
property. In case the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the
classification of property assessed to him the taxpayer or believes
that such the property is exempt or otherwise not subject to
taxation, he the taxpayer shall file his objections in writing with the assessor. The assessor shall decide the question by either
sustaining the protest and making proper corrections, or by stating,
in writing if requested, the reasons for his refusal to grant the
protest.
(b) The assessor may, and if the taxpayer requests, the
assessor shall, certify the question to the state Tax Commissioner
in a statement sworn to by both parties, or if the parties are
unable to agree, in separate sworn statements, giving a full
description of the property and any other information which the Tax
Commissioner may require. The Tax Commissioner shall prescribe
forms on which the aforesaid question shall be certified and the Tax
Commissioner shall have the authority to pursue any inquiry and
procure any information which may be necessary for the disposition
of the issue.
(c) The Tax Commissioner shall, as soon as possible on receipt
of the question, but in no case later than February 28 of the
assessment year, instruct the assessor as to how the property shall
be treated. The instructions issued and forwarded by mail to the
assessor shall be binding upon him the assessor, but either the
assessor or the taxpayer may apply to the circuit court of the
county within thirty days after receiving written notice of the Tax
Commissioner's ruling, for the review of the question of
classification and or taxability in the same fashion as is provided
for appeals from the county court commission sitting as a board of equalization and review in section twenty-five of this article. The
Tax Commissioner shall prescribe forms on which the aforesaid
questions shall be certified, and he shall have the authority to
pursue any inquiry and procure any information which may be
necessary for the disposition of the issue.
(d) The amendments to this section enacted in the year 2009
shall apply to classification and taxability rulings issued for
taxes levied after December 31, 2009.
§11-3-25. Relief in circuit court against erroneous assessment.
(a) Any person taxpayer claiming to be aggrieved by any
assessment in any land or personal property book of any county who
shall have appeared and contested the valuation or whose assessment
has been raised by the county court commission sitting as a board
of equalization and review above the assessment fixed by the
assessor or who contested the classification or taxability of his
property may, at any time up to thirty days after the adjournment
of the county court board, apply for relief to the circuit court of
the county in which such the property books are made out; but he any
person applying for relief in circuit court shall, before any such
application is heard, give ten days' notice to the prosecuting
attorney of the county, whose duty it shall be to attend to the
interests of the state, county and district in the matter, and the
prosecuting attorney shall give at least five days' notice of such
hearing to the Tax Commissioner.
(b) The right of appeal from any assessment by the county court
board, as hereinbefore provided in this section, may be taken either
by the applicant or by the state, and in case the applicant, by his
or her agent or attorney, or the state, by its prosecuting attorney
or Tax Commissioner, desires to take an appeal from the decision of
the county court board, the party desiring to take such an appeal
shall have the evidence taken at the hearing of the application
before the county court board, including a transcript of all
testimony and all papers, motions, documents, evidence and records
as were before the board, certified by the county clerk and
transmitted to the circuit court as provided in section four,
article three, chapter fifty-eight of this code, except that, any
other provision of this code notwithstanding, the evidence shall be
certified and transmitted within thirty days after the petition for
appeal is filed with the court or judge, in vacation.
(c) If there was an appearance by or on behalf of the owner
taxpayer before the county court board, or if actual notice,
certified by such court the board, was given to the owner taxpayer,
the appeal, when allowed by the court or judge, in vacation, shall
be determined from the evidence by the court from the record as so
certified: Provided, That in cases where the court determines that
the record made before the board is inadequate as a result of the
parties having had insufficient time to present evidence at the
hearing before the board to make a proper record, as a result of the parties having received insufficient notice of changes in the
assessed value of the property to make a proper record at the
hearing before the board, as a result of irregularities in the
procedures followed at the hearing before the board, or for any
other reason not involving the negligence of the party alleging that
the record is inadequate, the court may supplement the record to
make it adequate by allowing the submission of additional exhibits
or additional testimony or may remand the appeal back to the county
commission of the county in which the property is located, even
after the county commission has adjourned sine die as a board of
equalization and review for the tax year in which the appeal arose,
for the purpose of developing an adequate record upon which the
appeal can be decided. If, however, there was no actual notice to
such owner the taxpayer, and no appearance by or on behalf of the
owner taxpayer before the county court board, or if a question of
classification or taxability is presented, the matter shall be heard
de novo by the circuit court.
(d) If, upon the hearing of such appeal, it is determined that
any property has been valued assessed at more than sixty percent of
its true and actual value determined as provided in this chapter,
or illegally classified or assessed, the circuit court shall, by an
order entered of record, correct the assessment, and fix the
assessed value of the property at sixty percent of its true and
actual value. A copy of such the order or orders entered by the circuit court reducing the valuation shall be certified to the
Auditor, if the order or orders pertain to real property, by the
clerk within twenty days after the entering of the same, and every
order or judgment shall show that the prosecuting attorney or Tax
Commissioner was present and defended the interest of the state,
county and district. If it be ascertained that any property has
been valued too high, and that the owner taxpayer has paid the
excess tax, it shall be refunded to him the taxpayer and if not
paid, he the taxpayer shall be relieved from the payment thereof.
If it is ascertained that any property is valued too low, the
circuit court shall, by an order entered of record, correct the
valuation and fix it at sixty percent of its true and actual value.
A copy of any order entered by any circuit court increasing the
valuation of property shall be certified within twenty days, if the
order pertains to real property, to the Auditor, the county clerk
and the sheriff. However, if the order pertains only to personal
property, then the copy shall be certified within twenty days to the
county clerk and to the sheriff and it shall be the duty of the
Auditor, the county clerk and the sheriff to charge the taxpayer
affected with the increase of taxes occasioned by the increase of
valuation by applying the rate of levies for every purpose in the
district where such the property is situated for the current year.
The order shall also be filed in the office of the Auditor and clerk
of the county court commission. Any order disposing of a question of classification or taxability shall be similarly prepared,
certified and filed, and the increase or decrease of taxes resulting
shall be treated as provided above for changes in valuation. The
circuit court shall review the record submitted from the board. If
the court determines that the record is adequate, it shall establish
a briefing and argument schedule that will result in the appeal
being submitted to the court for decision within a reasonable time,
but not to exceed eight months after the appeal is filed. All final
decisions or orders of the circuit court shall be issued within a
reasonable time, not to exceed ninety days, from the date the last
brief is filed and the case is submitted to the court for decision.
The state or the aggrieved taxpayer may appeal a question of
valuation to the Supreme Court of Appeals if the assessed value of
the property is $50,000 or more. and either party may appeal a
question of classification or taxability
§11-3-25a. Payment of taxes that become due while appeal is
pending.
(a) All taxes levied and assessed against the property for the
year on which a protest or an appeal has been filed by the taxpayer
as provided in section twenty-four of this article shall be paid
before they become delinquent. If the taxes are not paid before
becoming delinquent, the circuit court, having jurisdiction of the
appeal, as appropriate, shall dismiss the appeal unless the
delinquent taxes and interest due are paid in full within thirty days after taxes for the second half of the tax year become
delinquent.
(b) In the event the order of a court becomes final and the
order results in an overpayment of taxes levied for the tax year
that have been paid to the sheriff, the amount of the overpayment
shall be refunded to the taxpayer if the overpayment is $25,000 or
less within thirty days after the decision or order becomes final.
If the overpayment is more than $25,000, a credit in the amount or
the overpayment shall be established by the county sheriff and
allowed as a credit against taxes owed for up to the following two
tax years: Provided, That the county commission may elect to refund
the amount of overpayment rather than having a credit established
as provided in this section. Whenever an overpayment is refunded
or credited under this section, the county shall pay interest at
rate established in section seventeen and seventeen-a, article ten
of this chapter for overpayments of taxes collected by the Tax
Commissioner, which interest shall be computed from the date the
overpayment was received by the sheriff to the date of the refund
check or the date the credit is actually taken against taxes that
become due after the order of the court becomes final.
§11-3-32. Effective date of amendments.
All amendments to this article adopted in the year 2009 shall
apply to the assessment years beginning on or after July 1, 2010.
ARTICLE 6J. ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND NATURAL RESOURCES PROPERTY.
§11-6J-1. Time and basis of assessments; true and actual value;
and returns of property to Tax Commissioner.
(a) All industrial property and natural resources property
shall be assessed annually as of January 1 of the year preceding the
tax year at sixty percent of its true and actual value as determined
by the Tax Commissioner under this article and under section ten,
article one-c of this chapter.
(b) If required by the Tax Commissioner, all owners or
operators of industrial property and natural resources property
shall, on or before May 1 of each year, make a return to the Tax
Commissioner and, if requested in writing by the assessor of the
county where situated, to the county assessor, at a time and in the
form specified by the Tax Commissioner, of all industrial property
or natural resources property owned by them. Tax returns required
to be filed pursuant to this section may be filed electronically in
the discretion of the Tax Commissioner. The Tax Commissioner may
require the filing of all information which would be useful in
valuing the property covered by the returns. Upon written
application by the taxpayer filed prior to the due date of any
return required to be filed by this section, the Tax Commissioner
may for reasonable cause shown grant an extension of no more than
one month in the due date of any return.
(c) Assessments of property interests made pursuant to this article shall not be combined with assessments of property interests
having a different assessment date.
§11-6J-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Active coal mining property" means a mineable bed of coal
on a property or portion of a property involved in a permitted
mining operation. Each and every bed of coal being mined in a
permitted mining operation is a separate active mining property.
(2) "Industrial property" means the real and personal property
integrated as a functioning unit intended for the assembling,
processing and manufacturing of finished or partially finished
products.
(3) "Managed timberland" means surface real property, except
farm woodlots, of not less than ten contiguous acres which is
devoted primarily to forest use and which, in consideration of its
size, has sufficient numbers of commercially valuable species of
trees to constitute at least forty percent normal stocking of forest
trees which are well distributed over the growing site, and that it
is certified as managed timberland by the Division of Forestry.
(4) "Natural gas-producing property" means the property from
which natural gas has been produced or extracted at any time during
the calendar year preceding January 1 assessment date. Natural gas
producing-property includes the property interest or interests
underlying an area of up to one hundred twenty-five acres of surface per well for property with active wells on the parcel.
(5) "Natural resources property" means any of the following:
Active coal mining property, reserve coal property, natural gas-
producing property, oil-producing property, managed timberland or
other natural resources property.
(6) "Oil-producing property" means property from which oil has
been produced or extracted at any time during the calendar year
preceding January 1 assessment date. Oil-producing property
includes the interest or interests underlying an area of up to forty
acres of surface per well with one or more active wells on the
parcel.
(7) "Operator" means an individual, limited liability company,
partnership, corporation, joint venture or other enterprise which
proposes to or does locate, drill, produce, manage or abandon any
oil and/or natural gas well or which is engaged in actively
obtaining or preparing to obtain coal and/or its by-products from
the earth's crust on an active coal mining property.
(8) "Reserve coal property" means any property for which coal
rights are part of the owned estate and which is not part of an
active coal mining property.
§11-6J-3. Form and manner of making return; failure to timely make
return; penalties.
(a) All returns required to be made to the Tax Commissioner
under this article shall be made in conformity with any reasonable requirements of the Tax Commissioner of which the person making the
return shall have had notice, and shall be made upon forms
prescribed by the Tax Commissioner who is invested with full power
and authority to prescribe the forms as will be required from any
owner, operator or producer that may be of use to the Tax
Commissioner in determining the true and actual value of the
properties of the owners, operators or producers.
(b) All returns shall be signed and sworn to by the owner,
operator or producer if a natural person, or, if the owner, operator
or producer shall be a limited liability company, corporation,
partnership, joint venture or other enterprise, shall be signed and
sworn to by its president, vice president, secretary or other
individual authorized to act on behalf of the taxpayer.
(c) If any owner, operator or producer fails to make a return
within the time required by section one of this article, it shall
be the duty of the Tax Commissioner to take steps as necessary to
compel compliance and to enforce any and all penalties imposed by
law for failure to do so.
(d) Any owner, operator or producer, whether a natural person,
limited liability company, corporation, partnership, joint venture
or other enterprise, failing to make a return as herein required
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, fined
$1,000 for each month the failure continues. In addition, any
penalties provided for in this chapter or elsewhere in this code relating to failure to list any property or to file any return or
report for ad valorem taxation purposes may be applied to any owner
of property required to make a return pursuant to this section.
§11-6J-4. Review of returns; procuring information for tentative
appraisals; tentative appraisals by Tax Commissioner;
and notification to taxpayers.
(a) All returns delivered to the Tax Commissioner shall be
examined by him or her, and if found insufficient in form or in any
respect defective, imperfect or not in compliance with law, he or
she shall compel the person required to make it to do so in proper
and sufficient form and in all respects as required by law.
(b) If any owner, operator or producer fails to make a required
return, the Tax Commissioner shall proceed to obtain the facts and
information required to be furnished by the returns.
(c) For the purposes of ascertaining the correctness of any
return filed pursuant to this article and/or of valuing the property
of any industrial taxpayer or natural resources property owner or
operator, the Tax Commissioner may exercise all of the powers and
authority granted to him or her by sections five-a, five-b and
five-c, article ten of this chapter.
(d) Using information provided on the returns and all other
pertinent evidence, information and data he or she has been able to
procure, the Tax Commissioner shall annually value and make
tentative appraisals of all industrial property and natural resources property as provided in section ten, article one-c of this
chapter.
(e) On or before September 15 of each year, the Tax
Commissioner shall complete the preparation of tentative appraisals
of all industrial property and natural resources property and shall
notify the owner or operator affected thereby of the amount of such
tentative appraisals. Notification may, at the reasonable
discretion of the Tax Commissioner, be: (1) By written notice
deposited in the United States mail, addressed to the owner or
operator at the principal office or place of business of the owner
or operator; (2) by electronic notification; or (3) by any other
means designed to communicate the tentative appraisal information
to the owner or operator in a timely and efficient manner and in a
convenient useable form. The Tax Commissioner shall retain in his
or her office true copies of tentative appraisals and of the
underlying work sheets used to compute the tentative appraisals, all
of which shall be available for inspection by any owner or operator
or his or her duly authorized representative.
§11-6J-5. Informal petition to Tax Commissioner for review of
tentative appraisals.
(a) A taxpayer who is of the opinion that the tentative
appraisal of its industrial property or natural resources property
does not reflect the true and actual value of the property or
otherwise improperly valued property may, after receiving its tentative appraisal and on or before November 1 of the year
preceding the assessment year, informally petition the Tax
Commissioner requesting a review of the tentative appraisal. The
Tax Commissioner may require the petition be made on a written form
prescribed by the Tax Commissioner.
(b) At the petitioner's request, the Tax Commissioner or his
or her representative shall meet with the petitioner and/or the
petitioner's representative, if any, to discuss the petition at a
time and place designated at least five working days in advance by
the Tax Commissioner after the petition is filed. If the petitioner
is unable to appear and meet with the Tax Commissioner at the time
and place set by the Tax Commissioner, the petitioner may submit
written evidence to support the petition if it is submitted before
the date of the meeting.
(c) The Tax Commissioner shall consider and rule on each
informal petition filed under this section on or before December 15
of the year preceding the assessment year. If the Tax Commissioner
agrees with the petition he or she shall modify the tentative
appraisal accordingly. If the Tax Commissioner does not agree with
the petition, he or she shall so notify the petitioner in writing.
§11-6J-6. Final appraisal of industrial property and natural
resources property by Tax Commissioner; appraisals
sent to assessors; appeals of Tax Commissioner's
appraisals.
(a) The Tax Commissioner shall finalize the tentative
appraisals made pursuant to section three of this article and make
his or her final appraisals of industrial property and natural
resources property on or before December 15 of the year preceding
the assessment year.
(b) On or before December 15 of the year preceding the
assessment year, the Tax Commissioner shall forward each industrial
property and natural resources property appraisal to the county
assessor of the county in which that property is located and the
assessor shall multiply each appraisal by sixty percent and include
the resulting assessed value in the land book or the personal
property book, as appropriate for each tax year. The Tax
Commissioner shall supply supporting data that the assessor might
need to evaluate the appraisal.
(c) Any taxpayer claiming to be aggrieved by any assessment
made pursuant to this article may appeal the assessment as provided
under the provisions of article three of this chapter.
§11-6J-7. Effective date.
The provisions of this article enacted in the year 2009 shall
be effective for the tax year 2011 and thereafter.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
