SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8
(By Senators Sprouse, Minear and Deem)
[Introduced March 12, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Finance.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending section one, article X thereof, relating to
providing residential rental property is taxed at the same
rate as residential owner-occupied property; numbering and
designating such proposed amendment; and providing a
summarized statement of the purpose of such 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 two, which proposed amendment is that section
one, article X thereof be amended and reenacted, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE X. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
§1. Taxation and finance.
Subject to the exceptions in this section contained, taxation
shall be equal and uniform throughout the state, and all property,
both real and personal, shall be taxed in proportion to its value
to be ascertained as directed by law. No one species of property
from which a tax may be collected shall be taxed higher than any
other species of property of equal value; except that the aggregate
of taxes assessed in any one year upon personal property employed
exclusively in agriculture, including horticulture and grazing,
products of agriculture as above defined, including livestock,
while owned by the producer, and money, notes, bonds, bills and
accounts receivable, stocks and other similar intangible personal
property shall not exceed fifty cents on each one hundred dollars
of value thereon and upon all property owned, used, and occupied or
rented by the owner thereof exclusively for residential purposes
and upon farms occupied and cultivated by their owners or bona fide
tenants, one dollar; and upon all other property situated outside
of municipalities, one dollar and fifty cents; and upon all other
property situated within municipalities, two dollars; and the
Legislature shall further provide by general law for increasing the
maximum rates, authorized to be fixed, by the different levying bodies upon all classes of property, by submitting the question to
the voters of the taxing units affected, but no increase shall be
effective unless at least sixty percent of the qualified voters
shall favor such increase, and such increase shall may not continue
for a longer period than three years at any one time, and shall may
never exceed by more than fifty percent the maximum rate herein
provided and prescribed by law; and the revenue derived from this
source shall be apportioned by the Legislature among the levying
units of the state in proportion to the levy laid in said units
upon real and other personal property; but property used for
educational, literary, scientific, religious or charitable
purposes, all cemeteries, public property, the personal property,
including livestock, employed exclusively in agriculture as above
defined and the products of agriculture as so defined while owned
by the producers may by law be exempted from taxation; household
goods to the value of two hundred dollars shall be exempted from
taxation. The Legislature shall have authority to tax privileges,
franchises, and incomes of persons and corporations and to classify
and graduate the tax on all incomes according to the amount thereof
and to exempt from taxation incomes below a minimum to be fixed
from time to time, and such revenues as may be derived from such tax may be appropriated as the Legislature may provide. After the
year nineteen hundred thirty-three, the rate of the state tax upon
property shall may not exceed one cent upon the hundred dollars
valuation, except to pay the principal and interest of bonded
indebtedness of the state now existing; and, be it
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 "Fairness in real property taxation amendment" and the purpose
of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To provide
that residential real property is taxed at the same rate as
owner-occupied real property."
NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to provide that
residential real property is taxed at the same rate as
owner-occupied real property.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.