Senate Bill No. 252
(By Senator Sprouse, Rowe, Minear, Mitchell and Ross)
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[Introduced January 18, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article fifteen,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
consumers sales tax; and rolling back the sales tax on food
by one-half percent per year until the sales tax on food is
eliminated.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article fifteen, 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 15. CONSUMERS SALES TAX.
§11-15-3. Amount of tax; allocation of tax and transfers.
(a) For the privilege of selling tangible personal property
and of dispensing certain selected services defined in sections two and eight of this article, the vendor shall collect from the
purchaser the tax as provided under this article, and shall pay
the amount of tax to the tax commissioner in accordance with the
provisions of this article.
(b) Beginning on the first day of March, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine, the general consumer sales and service tax
imposed by this article shall be at the rate of six cents on the
dollar of sales or services, excluding gasoline and special fuel
sales, which remain taxable at the rate of five cents on the
dollar of sales.
(c) Beginning on the first day of January, two thousand
three, and on that date each year thereafter, the general
consumer sales and service tax imposed by this article on food
shall be reduced at a rate of one-half cent on the dollar of
sales or services until this tax on food is eliminated. The tax
commissioner shall propose rules for legislative approval in a
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code to implement this subsection and to ensure
that effective the first day of January, two thousand fourteen,
the sales or services taxes imposed on food is eliminated.
(c) (d) There shall be no tax on sales where the monetary
consideration is five cents or less. The amount of the tax
shall be computed as follows:
(1) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
six cents to sixteen cents, both inclusive, one cent.
(2) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
seventeen cents to thirty-three cents, both inclusive, two
cents.
(3) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
thirty-four cents to fifty cents, both inclusive, three cents.
(4) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
fifty-one cents to sixty-seven cents, both inclusive, four
cents.
(5) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
sixty-eight cents to eighty-four cents, both inclusive, five
cents.
(6) On each sale, where the monetary consideration is from
eighty-five cents to one dollar, both inclusive, six cents.
(7) If the sale price is in excess of one dollar, six cents
on each whole dollar of sale price, and upon any fractional part
of a dollar in excess of whole dollars as follows: One cent on
the fractional part of the dollar if less than seventeen cents;
two cents on the fractional part of the dollar if in excess of
sixteen cents but less than thirty-four cents; three cents on
the fractional part of the dollar if in excess of thirty-three
cents but less than fifty-one cents; four cents on the fractional part of the dollar if in excess of fifty cents but
less than sixty-eight cents; five cents on the fractional part
of the dollar if in excess of sixty-seven cents but less than
eighty-five cents; and six cents on the fractional part of the
dollar if in excess of eighty-four cents. For example, the tax
on sales from one dollar and one cent to one dollar and sixteen
cents, both inclusive, seven cents; on sales from one dollar and
seventeen cents to one dollar and thirty-three cents, both
inclusive, eight cents; on sales from one dollar and thirty-four
cents to one dollar and fifty cents, both inclusive, nine cents;
on sales from one dollar and fifty-one cents to one dollar and
sixty-seven cents, both inclusive, ten cents; on sales from one
dollar and sixty-eight cents to one dollar and eighty-four
cents, both inclusive, eleven cents and on sales from one dollar
and eighty-five cents to two dollars, both inclusive, twelve
cents.
(d) (e) Separate sales, such as daily or weekly deliveries,
shall may not be aggregated for the purpose of computation of
the tax even though such the sales are aggregated in the billing
or payment therefor. Notwithstanding any other provision,
coin-operated amusement and vending machine sales shall be
aggregated for the purpose of computation of this tax.
(e) (f) Of the taxes collected under the provisions of this article, one sixth of such the taxes collected for the period
subsequent to the thirty-first day of May, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight prior to the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and not attributable to or
resulting from the repeal of section eleven of this article or
attributable to tax on purchases of gasoline and special fuel,
shall be reasonably allocated, with allowance for refunds and
net of reasonable costs of administration, to and deposited by
the tax commissioner in the special account created in the
treasury by section eight-a, article four-b, chapter
twenty-three of this code, not to exceed the amount sufficient
for making timely repayment of the principal and interest under
the first payment due, by the thirtieth day of June, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, in repayment for the moneys
previously transferred from such the pneumoconiosis fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to roll back the sales tax
on food by one half of one percent per year until the sales tax
on food is eliminated.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.