H. B. 4408
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced February 12, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article three, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating generally to ad
valorem property taxes; permitting supplemental assessment
of omitted property and requiring immediate payment of taxes
thereon, including applicable interest and penalty, for all
omitted years and all delinquent years; and allowing tax
commission to promulgate procedures for making supplemental
assessments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, 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.
§11-3-5. Correction of previous property books; entry of omitted
property.
(a) 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.
(b) 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 such 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 nine percent per annum for the years the same was
omitted from the books.
And when the assessor shall ascertain that any notes, bonds,
bills and accounts receivable, stocks and other intangible
personal property in his county liable to taxation has been
omitted from the personal property books for a period of five
years or less after December thirty- first, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-two, he shall make entry thereof in the personal property book of the year in which such 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 percent per annum for the years the same was
omitted from the books.
(c) Any assessor failing to make such 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.
(d) Any property owner may apply to the assessor for an
assessment of omitted property. If the property owner and
assessor agree upon the assessed value, to be determined in the
manner provided by law, the assessor shall enter the omitted
property on the current land or personal property book, as the
case may be, and extend the levies. The owner shall immediately
tender payment of all taxes, interest and penalties to the
sheriff, who will cause a receipt to be issued.
(e) The tax commissioner may propose for promulgation
legislative rules pursuant to article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code to assist in the efficient administration of subsection (d) of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to codify and expand an
existing administrative practice, historically available only to
automobiles.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.