Senate Bill No. 425
(By Senators Manchin, Oliverio, Chafin, Dittmar, Love,
Whitlow, Walker, Schoonover and Dugan)
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[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
four-a, relating to car rental companies; authorizing a
rental tax to be assessed on automobile rentals; defining
terms; providing for the reporting of the tax collected;
exempting rental vehicles from the privilege tax;
authorizing audits; and providing for criminal penalties for
violation of this section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-4a. Car rental companies, taxes, reporting and
penalties.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
there shall be imposed a five percent tax on the gross proceeds
of the rental of any daily rental passenger car. A daily rental
passenger car means a motor vehicle (other than a motorcycle)
that is held for rental, used for the transportation of persons
and having a gross vehicle weight of nine thousand pounds or
less.
(b) The five percent of rental tax imposed by this section
on the renting of a motor vehicle shall be paid by the person
renting such motor vehicle, collected by the renter of the motor
vehicle, and remitted to the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles on or before the twentieth day of the month
following the month in which the gross proceeds from such rental
was due. Along with the tax due, the renter shall forward a
return to the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles upon
a form or forms prescribed and furnished by the division of motor vehicles, showing the gross proceeds from rentals of all motor
vehicles, and of all daily rental passenger cars, during the
preceding calendar month. If any person fails to pay the tax,
the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles shall bring an
appropriate action for the recovery of such tax plus interest.
(c) Rental vehicles are exempt from the five percent
privilege tax set forth in section four, article three, chapter
seventeen of this code. However, in order to qualify for this
exemption, the vehicle must be held exclusively for rental as an
established business, or part of an established business, or
incidental or germane to an established rental business, at the
time that it is first required to be titled in West Virginia.
(d) In every transaction subject to the provisions of this
section, the tax imposed by this section shall be separately
stated from the rental price of the motor vehicle and shall be
paid by the renter in accordance with the provisions of this
section.
(e) The commissioner may audit businesses making the reports
under subsection (b) of this section. Any business assessing the
tax authorized under this section which fails to comply with the
reporting requirements of this section or which files a report which misrepresents the amount of rental car revenues generated
in this state; the amount of the tax collected pursuant to this
section or any person who counsels, advises, aids or abets the
business in the submission of the report is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not to
exceed one thousand dollars. Each violation constitutes a
separate offense. The penalties in this section are in addition
to those contained in article nine, chapter eleven of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize a tax to be
assessed on automobile rentals, provide for the reporting of the
tax collected, exempt rental vehicles from the privilege tax,
authorize audits, and provide for criminal penalties for
violation of this section.
Section four-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a is new;
therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.