HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 25

(By Delegates Angotti, Perdue, Warner,
L. Smith and Modesitt)
(Introduced February 24, 1999; referred
to the Committee on Constitutional Revision then Finance)


Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending section one, article ten thereof, relating to exempting vehicles held in inventory by motor vehicle dealers licensed under general law from ad valorem property taxation; numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose of the proposed amendment.

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:
That the question of ratification or rejection of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be submitted to the voters of the State at the next general election to be held in the year two thousand, which proposed amendment is that section one, article ten thereof, be amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE X. TAXATION AND FINANCE
§1. Motor Vehicles Exempt From Ad Valorem Property Taxation.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sections, motor vehicles held in inventory by licensed motor vehicle dealers shall be exempt from ad valorem property taxation.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article eleven, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as "The Exemption of Property Taxes on Automobile Inventory Amendment," and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To amend the State Constitution to exempt property taxes on automobiles held in dealer inventory and thereby reduce the cost of automobiles to buyers."


NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to reduce to the general public the cost of motor vehicles by eliminating the burdensome expense borne by motor vehicle dealers in paying property taxes on vehicles held for sale.