Senate Bill No. 213
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced January 15, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing an
exemption for new residents from payment of the privilege
tax imposed on vehicles upon a showing that the applicant
was not a resident at the time the vehicle was purchased
and a similar tax was paid to another state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-4. Application for certificate of title; tax for privilege of certification of title; exceptions;
fee on payments for leased vehicles; penalty for
false swearing.
(a) Certificates of registration of any vehicle or
registration plates for the vehicle, whether original issues or
duplicates, may not be issued or furnished by the division of
motor vehicles or any other officer or agent charged with the
duty, unless the applicant therefor already has received, or at
the same time makes application for and is granted, an official
certificate of title of the vehicle in either an electronic or
paper format. The application shall be upon a blank form to be
furnished by the division of motor vehicles and shall contain a
full description of the vehicle, which description shall contain
a manufacturer's serial or identification number or other number
as determined by the commissioner and any distinguishing marks,
together with a statement of the applicant's title and of any
liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle, the names and addresses
of the holders of the liens and any other information as the
division of motor vehicles may require. The application shall
be signed and sworn to by the applicant. A duly certified copy
of the division's electronic record of a certificate of title
shall be admissible in any civil, criminal or administrative
proceeding in this state as evidence of ownership.
(b) A tax is imposed upon the privilege of effecting the
certification of title of each vehicle in the amount equal to
five percent of the value of the motor vehicle at the time of
the certification, to be assessed as follows:
(1) If the vehicle is new, the actual purchase price or
consideration to the purchaser of the vehicle is the value of
the vehicle. If the vehicle is a used or secondhand vehicle,
the present market value at time of transfer or purchase is the
value of the vehicle for the purposes of this section:
Provided, That so much of the purchase price or consideration as
is represented by the exchange of other vehicles on which the
tax imposed by this section has been paid by the purchaser shall
be deducted from the total actual price or consideration paid
for the vehicle, whether the vehicle be new or secondhand. If
the vehicle is acquired through gift, or by any manner
whatsoever, unless specifically exempted in this section, the
present market value of the vehicle at the time of the gift or
transfer is the value of the vehicle for the purposes of this
section.
(2) No certificate of title for any vehicle may be issued
to any applicant unless the applicant has paid to the division
of motor vehicles the tax imposed by this section which is five
percent of the true and actual value of the vehicle whether the vehicle is acquired through purchase, by gift or by any other
manner whatsoever, except gifts between husband and wife or
between parents and children: Provided, That the husband or
wife, or the parents or children, previously have paid the tax
on the vehicles transferred to the state of West Virginia.
(3) The division of motor vehicles may issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant if the applicant
provides sufficient proof to the division of motor vehicles that
the applicant has paid the taxes and fees required by this
section to a motor vehicle dealership that has gone out of
business or has filed bankruptcy proceedings in the United
States bankruptcy court and the taxes and fees so required to be
paid by the applicant have not been sent to the division by the
motor vehicle dealership or have been impounded due to the
bankruptcy proceedings: Provided, That the applicant makes an
affidavit of the same and assigns all rights to claims for money
the applicant may have against the motor vehicle dealership to
the division of motor vehicles.
(4) The division of motor vehicles shall issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant without payment of the
tax imposed by this section if the applicant is a corporation,
partnership or limited liability company transferring the
vehicle to another corporation, partnership or limited liability company when the entities involved in the transfer are members
of the same controlled group and the transferring entity has
previously paid the tax on the vehicle transferred. For the
purposes of this section, control means ownership, directly or
indirectly, of stock or equity interests possessing fifty
percent or more of the total combined voting power of all
classes of the stock of a corporation or equity interests of a
partnership or limited liability company entitled to vote or
ownership, directly or indirectly, of stock or equity interests
possessing fifty percent or more of the value of the
corporation, partnership or limited liability company.
(5) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
vehicles to be registered as Class H vehicles or Class M
vehicles, as defined in section one, article ten of this
chapter, which are used or to be used in interstate commerce.
Nor does the tax imposed by this section apply to the titling of
Class B vehicles registered at a gross weight of fifty-five
thousand pounds or more, or to the titling of Class C
semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and converter gear:
Provided, That if an owner of a vehicle has previously titled
the vehicle at a declared gross weight of fifty-five thousand
pounds or more and the title was issued without the payment of
the tax imposed by this section, then before the owner may obtain registration for the vehicle at a gross weight less than
fifty-five thousand pounds, the owner shall surrender to the
commissioner the exempted registration, the exempted certificate
of title and pay the tax imposed by this section based upon the
current market value of the vehicle: Provided, however, That
notwithstanding the provisions of section nine, article fifteen,
chapter eleven of this code, the exemption from tax under this
section for Class B vehicles in excess of fifty-five thousand
pounds and Class C semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers
and converter gear does not subject the sale or purchase of the
vehicles to the consumers sales tax.
(6) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles leased by residents of West Virginia. A tax
is imposed upon the monthly payments for the lease of any motor
vehicle leased by a resident of West Virginia, which tax is
equal to five percent of the amount of the monthly payment,
applied to each payment, and continuing for the entire term of
the initial lease period. The tax shall be remitted to the
division of motor vehicles on a monthly basis by the lessor of
the vehicle.
(7) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles by a registered dealer of this state for
resale only, nor does the tax imposed by this section apply to titling of vehicles by this state or any political subdivision
thereof, or by any volunteer fire department or duly chartered
rescue or ambulance squad organized and incorporated under the
laws of the state of West Virginia as a nonprofit corporation
for protection of life or property. The total amount of revenue
collected by reason of this tax shall be paid into the state
road fund and expended by the commissioner of highways for
matching federal funds allocated for West Virginia. In addition
to the tax, there is a charge of five dollars for each original
certificate of title or duplicate certificate of title so
issued: Provided, That this state or any political subdivision
of this state, or any volunteer fire department or duly
chartered rescue squad is exempt from payment of the charge.
(8) The certificate is good for the life of the vehicle, so
long as the vehicle is owned or held by the original holder of
the certificate, and need not be renewed annually, or any other
time, except as provided in this section.
(9) If, by will or direct inheritance, a person becomes the
owner of a motor vehicle and the tax imposed by this section
previously has been paid, to the division of motor vehicles, on
that vehicle, he or she is not required to pay the tax.
(10) A person who has paid the tax imposed by this section
is not required to pay the tax a second time for the same motor vehicle, but is required to pay a charge of five dollars for the
certificate of retitle of that motor vehicle, except that the
tax shall be paid by the person when the title to the vehicle
has been transferred either in this or another state from the
person to another person and transferred back to the person.
(11) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to any
passenger vehicle offered for rent in the normal course of
business by a daily passenger rental car business as licensed
under the provisions of article six-d of this chapter. For
purposes of this section, a daily passenger car means a Class A
motor vehicle having a gross weight of eight thousand pounds or
less and is registered in this state or any other state. In
lieu of the tax imposed by this section, there is hereby imposed
a tax of not less than one dollar nor more than one dollar and
fifty cents for each day or part of the rental period. The
commissioner shall propose an emergency rule in accordance with
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code to establish this tax.
(12) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to an
applicant for title if the applicant:
(A) Was not a resident of this state at the time the
applicant purchased or otherwise acquired ownership of the
vehicle;
(B) Shows verifiable evidence of having paid a similar tax
in his or her previous state of residence as the commissioner
may require;
(C) Has relocated to this state as a new resident and can
present such evidence as the commissioner may require to show
bona-fide residency in this state; and
(D) Makes application for title within thirty days of
establishing residency as prescribed in subsection (a), section
one-a of this article.
(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, the owners of trailers, semitrailers, recreational
vehicles and other vehicles not subject to the certificate of
title tax prior to the enactment of this chapter are subject to
the privilege tax imposed by this section: Provided, That the
certification of title of any recreational vehicle owned by the
applicant on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine, is not subject to the tax imposed by this
section: Provided, however, That mobile homes, manufactured
homes, modular homes and similar nonmotive propelled vehicles,
except recreational vehicles and house trailers, susceptible of
being moved upon the highways but primarily designed for
habitation and occupancy, rather than for transporting persons
or property, or any vehicle operated on a nonprofit basis and used exclusively for the transportation of mentally retarded or
physically handicapped children when the application for
certificate of registration for the vehicle is accompanied by an
affidavit stating that the vehicle will be operated on a
nonprofit basis and used exclusively for the transportation of
mentally retarded and physically handicapped children, are not
subject to the tax imposed by this section, but are taxable
under the provisions of articles fifteen and fifteen-a, chapter
eleven of this code.
(d) Any person making any affidavit required under any
provision of this section, who knowingly swears falsely, or any
person who counsels, advises, aids or abets another in the
commission of false swearing, or any person, while acting as an
agent of the division of motor vehicles, issues a vehicle
registration without first collecting the fees and taxes or
fails to perform any other duty required by this chapter to be
performed before a vehicle registration is issued is on the
first offense guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or be
confined in the county or regional jail for a period not to
exceed six months or, in the discretion of the court, both fined
and confined. For a second or any subsequent conviction within
five years, that person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five thousand
dollars or be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than
one year nor more than five years or, in the discretion of the
court, both fined and imprisoned.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
any person in the military stationed outside West Virginia, or
his or her dependents who possess a motor vehicle with valid
registration, are exempt from the provisions of this article for
a period of nine months from the date the person returns to this
state or the date his or her dependent returns to this state,
whichever is later.
(f) No person may transfer, purchase or sell a factory-built
home without a certificate of title issued by the commissioner
in accordance with the provisions of this article:
(1) Any person who fails to provide a certificate of title
upon the transfer, purchase or sale of a factory-built home is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for
the first offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than one thousand dollars, or be confined in the county or
regional jail for not more than one year or, both fined and
confined. For each subsequent offense, the fine may be
increased to not more than two thousand dollars, with
confinement in the county or regional jail not more than one year or, both fined and confined.
(2) Failure of the seller to transfer a certificate of title
upon sale or transfer of the factory-built home gives rise to a
cause of action, upon prosecution thereof, and allows for the
recovery of damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
whenever reference is made to the application for or issuance of
any title or the recordation or release of any lien, it shall be
understood to include the application, transmission,
recordation, transfer of ownership and storage of information in
an electronic format.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt new residents
from payment of the privilege tax upon a showing that the
applicant was not a resident at the time the vehicle was
purchased and a similar tax was paid to another state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates language that
would be added.