H. B. 3137
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced March 30, 2001; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article twelve, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to business registration tax
and business registration certificate; requiring prisoners to
provide written authorization from the institution where they
are incarcerated in order to be eligible for a business
registration certificate; specifying requirements for
application; and specifying the tax commissioner's authority
to suspend, revoke, refuse to issue or refuse to renew
certificate for applications containing false or misleading
information or applications omitting information.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article twelve, 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 12. BUSINESS REGISTRATION TAX.
§11-12-3. Business registration certificate required; tax levied;
exemption from registration; exemption from tax.
(a)
Registration required. -- No person shall, without a
business registration certificate, engage in or prosecute, in the
state of West Virginia, any business activity without first
obtaining a business registration certificate from the tax
commissioner of the state of West Virginia. Additionally, before
beginning business in this state, such person:
(1) If a transient vendor, shall comply with the provisions of
sections twenty through twenty-five of this article;
(2) If a collection agency, shall comply with the provisions
of article sixteen, chapter forty-seven of this code;
(3) If an employment agency, shall comply with the provisions
of article two, chapter twenty-one of this code;
(4) If selling drug paraphernalia, as defined in section
three, article nineteen, chapter forty-seven of this code, shall
comply with the provisions of article nineteen, chapter forty-seven
of this code;
(5) If a prisoner incarcerated in any jail or other
correctional institution operated by, under the authority of, or on
behalf of, any government agency within or without this state,
shall obtain written and notarized authorization from the warden or
administrator of that institution or the designee thereof in order
to be eligible for a certificate. That authorization shall be
submitted with the application for the certificate, and shall be considered when the tax commissioner determines whether, in his or
her discretion, a certificate may be issued. Failure by any
prisoner to submit a valid authorization or other required
application information may result in the denial of the
certificate. The applicant shall clearly state on the application
the name of the jail or institution where the prisoner is
incarcerated as part of the applicant's mailing address. If in the
judgment of the tax commissioner, any application contains false or
misleading information or omits required information, the tax
commissioner may in his or her discretion suspend, revoke or refuse
to issue or refuse to renew the certificate, and the tax
commissioner and the state tax department may not be held liable
for issuing, suspending, revoking or refusing to issue or refusing
to renew the certificate.
Persons engaging in or prosecuting other business activities
in this state may also be subject to other provisions of this code
which they must satisfy before commencing or while engaging in a
business activity in this state.
(b)
Tax levied. -- The business registration tax hereby levied
shall be fifteen dollars for each annual business registration
certificate:
Provided, That for registration periods beginning on
or after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, the business registration tax shall be thirty dollars,
except as otherwise provided in this article:
(1) A separate business registration certificate is required
for each fixed business location from which property or services are offered for sale or lease to the public as a class, or to a
limited portion of the public; or at which customer accounts may be
opened, closed or serviced;
(2) A separate business registration certificate is not
required for each coin-operated machine. A separate certificate is
required for each location from which making coin-operated machines
available to the public is itself a business activity;
(3) A business that sells tangible personal property or
services from or out of one or more vehicles needs a separate
business registration certificate for each fixed location in this
state from or out of which business is conducted. A copy of its
business registration certificate shall be carried in each vehicle
and publicly displayed while business is conducted from or out of
the vehicle;
(4) A business registration certificate is required by
subsection (a) of this section for every person engaging in
purposeful revenue generating activity in this state. If that
activity is one for which an employment agency license or a
collection agency license or a license to sell drug paraphernalia
is required and no other business activity is conducted by that
person at each business location for which the employment agency
license or collection agency license or license to sell drug
paraphernalia is issued, then only that license is required for
each such activity conducted by the licensee at each business
location. However, if, in addition to the activity for which each
license is issued, some other business activity is conducted by the licensee at such business location, a separate business
registration certificate is required to conduct the nonlicensed
activity.
(c)
Exemption from registration. -- Any person engaging in or
prosecuting business activity in this state:
(1) Who is not required by law to collect or withhold a tax
administered under article ten of this chapter; and
(2) Who does not claim exemption from payment of taxes imposed
by articles fifteen and fifteen-a of this chapter, shall be exempt
from both registration and payment of the tax imposed by this
article, if such person had gross income from business activity of
four thousand dollars or less during that person's tax year for
state income tax purposes immediately preceding the registration
period for which a registration certificate is otherwise required
by this article.
(d)
Exemptions from payment of tax. -- Any person engaging in
or prosecuting any business activity in this state who is required
by law to collect or withhold any tax administered under article
ten of this chapter; or who claims exemption from payment of the
taxes imposed by articles fifteen and fifteen-a of this chapter,
shall be required to obtain a business registration certificate, as
herein before provided, but shall be exempt from payment of the tax
levied by subsection (b) of this section, if such person is:
(1) A person who had gross income from business activity of
four thousand dollars or less during that person's tax year for
state income tax purposes immediately preceding the registration period for which a registration certificate is required under this
article;
(2) An organization which qualifies, or would qualify, for
exemption from federal income taxes under section 501 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
(3) This state, or a political subdivision thereof, selling
tangible personal property, admissions or services, when those
activities compete with or may compete with the activities of
another person;
(4) The United States, or an agency or instrumentality
thereof, which is exempt from taxation by the states;
(5) A person engaged in the business of agriculture and
farming:
Provided, That no producer or grower selling products of
the farm, garden or dairy and not included within the definition of
business under subsection (a), section two of this article shall be
required to obtain a business registration certificate or pay the
business registration tax;
(6) A foreign retailer who is not a "retailer engaging in
business in this state" as defined in section one, article
fifteen-a of this chapter, who enters into an agreement with the
tax commissioner to voluntarily collect and remit use tax on sales
to West Virginia customers.
(e)
Money penalty. -- Any person required to obtain a business
registration certificate under this section, who is exempt from
payment of the tax, as provided in subsection (d)of this section,
who does not obtain a registration certificate shall, in lieu of paying the penalty imposed by section nine of this article, pay a
penalty of fifteen dollars for each business location for which a
certificate is needed:
Provided, That application for business
registration is made and the applicable money penalty tendered to
the tax commissioner within fifteen days after such person receives
written notice from the tax commissioner that such person is
required to obtain a business registration certificate.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require prisoners to
obtain written authorization from prison officials in order to
apply for a business registration certificate, and to expressly
authorize the tax commissioner in his or her discretion to suspend,
revoke or refuse to issue or refuse to renew the certificate for
any application that contains false or misleading information or
that omits required information.
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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