Senate Bill No. 593
(By Senators Snyder, Fanning and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 22, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three-b, article thirteen-a,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing
the rate of severance tax on timber; and providing for the
distribution of proceeds from the tax collected.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-b, article thirteen-a, 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 13A. SEVERANCE TAXES.
§11-13A-3b. Imposition of tax on privilege of severing timber.
(a) Imposition of tax. -- For the privilege of engaging or
continuing within this state in the business of severing timber
for sale, profit or commercial use, there is hereby levied and shall be collected from every person exercising such privilege an
annual privilege tax.
(b) Rate and measure of tax. -- The tax imposed in
subsection (a) of this section shall be three nine and twenty-two
sixty six hundredths percent of the gross value of the timber
produced, as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale
thereof by the producer, except as otherwise provided in this
article.
(c) Distribution of tax proceeds. -- The proceeds received
from the tax imposed in this section shall be distributed as
follows: (1) One third to the department of forestry of the
division of natural resources; (2) one third to be distributed
equally among all counties in this state in which commercial
logging activities take place in the year in which the tax is
imposed and collected; and (3) one third to the state's general
revenue fund.
(c) (d) Tax in addition to other taxes. -- The tax imposed
by this section shall apply to all persons severing timber in this state, and shall be in addition to all other taxes imposed
by law.
(d) (e) Effective date. -- This section, as amended in the
year one thousand nine hundred ninety-three ninety-nine, shall
apply to gross proceeds derived after the thirty-first day of May
of such year. The language of section three of this article, as
in effect on the first day of January of such year, shall apply
to gross proceeds derived prior to the first day of June of such
year and, with respect to such gross income, shall be fully and
completely preserved.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the severance
tax on timbering from 3.22% of the gross proceeds obtained to
6.66%. The bill also provides that tax proceeds be distributed
equally among the department of forestry, counties in which
commercial logging activities occur, and the general revenue
fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.