H. B. 3159


(By Delegate Carmichael)
[Introduced February 21, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article sixteen, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section nine-d, article three, chapter sixty of said code; to amend and reenact section twenty-one, article three-a of said chapter sixty; and to amend and reenact section four, article eight of said chapter sixty, all relating to increasing the tax on beer, wine and alcoholic liquors by fifty percent.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article sixteen, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that section nine-d, article three, chapter sixty of said code be amended and reenacted; and that section twenty-one, article three-a of said chapter sixty be amended and reenacted; and that section four, article eight of said chapter sixty be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 16. NONINTOXICATING BEER.
§11-16-13. Barrel tax on nonintoxicating beer.

(a) There is hereby levied and imposed, in addition to the license taxes provided for in this article, a tax of five dollars and fifty cents seven dollars and seventy-five cents on each barrel of thirty-one gallons and in like ratio on each part barrel of nonintoxicating beer manufactured in this state for sale within this state, whether contained or sold in barrels, bottles or other containers, and a like tax is hereby levied and imposed upon all nonintoxicating beer manufactured outside of this state and brought into this state for sale within this state; but no nonintoxicating beer manufactured, sold or distributed in this state is subject to more than one barrel tax. The brewer manufacturing or producing nonintoxicating beer within this state for sale within this state shall pay the barrel tax on such nonintoxicating beer, and, except as provided otherwise, the distributor who is the original consignee of nonintoxicating beer manufactured or produced outside of this state, or who brings such nonintoxicating beer into this state, shall pay the barrel tax on such nonintoxicating beer manufactured or produced outside of this state: Provided, That the barrel tax imposed by this section shall not apply to nonintoxicating beer manufactured by a brewpub.
(b) On or before the tenth day of each month during the license period, every brewer or operator of a brewpub who manufactures or produces nonintoxicating beer within this state shall file a report in writing, under oath, to the tax commissioner, in the form prescribed by the tax commissioner, stating its total sales, or in the case of a brewpub, its total estimated production of nonintoxicating beer within this state during that month, and at the same time shall pay the tax levied by this article on such production. On or before the tenth day of each month during the license period, every distributor who is the original consignee of nonintoxicating beer manufactured or produced outside this state or who brings such beer into this state for sale shall file a report in writing, under oath, to the tax commissioner, in the form prescribed by the tax commissioner, stating its total estimated purchases of such nonintoxicating beer during that month, and at the same time shall pay the tax thereon levied by this article for such estimated monthly purchase: Provided, That the tax commissioner may allow, or require, a brewer who manufactures or produces nonintoxicating beer outside this state to file the required report and pay the required tax on behalf of its distributor or distributors. Any brewer or distributor or operator of a brewpub who files a report under this subsection may adjust its monthly estimated sales or purchases or production report or reports by filing amended reports by the twenty-fifth day of the reporting month.
(c) Every brewer or distributor or operator of a brewpub who files a report under subsection (b) of this section shall file a final monthly report of said sales or purchases or production, in a form and at a time prescribed by the tax commissioner, stating actual nonintoxicating beer sales, purchases, or production and other information which the tax commissioner may require, and shall include a remittance for any barrel tax owed for actual sales or purchases or production made in excess of the amount estimated for that month.
(d) Any brewer or distributor or operator of a brewpub who files a report pursuant to subsection (b) of this section reflecting an underestimation of twenty-five percent or more of actual sales or purchases or production of nonintoxicating beer as shown by the report filed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be assessed a penalty of one percent of the total taxes due in such prior month.
(e) Brewers and distributors and operators of brewpubs shall keep all records which relate to the sale or purchase in this state of nonintoxicating beer for a period of three years unless written approval for earlier disposal is granted by the tax commissioner.
(f) Brewpubs shall keep such records as required by the federal government and may, in lieu of the recordkeeping and reporting requirements contained in subsections (a) through (e) of this section, file copies of the federal reports contemporaneously with the tax commissioner at the time of such filings with the federal government. The filing of duplicate copies of the federal reports with the state tax commissioner shall be deemed as compliance with subsections (a) through (e) of this section.
CHAPTER 60. STATE CONTROL OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.
ARTICLE 3. SALES BY COMMISSIONER.
§60-3-9d. Tax on purchases of intoxicating liquors outside corporate limits of municipalities.

For the purpose of providing financial assistance to and for the use and benefit of the various counties and municipalities of this state, there is hereby levied a tax upon all purchases outside the corporate limits of any municipality of intoxicating liquor from state stores or other agencies of the alcohol beverage control commissioner, of wine from any person licensed to sell wine at retail under the provisions of article eight, chapter sixty of this code, and of wine from distributors licensed to sell or distribute wine under the provisions of said article eight. The tax shall be five seven and one-half percent of the purchase price and shall be added to and collected with the purchase price by the commissioner, by the person licensed to sell wine at retail, or by the distributor licensed to sell or distribute wine, as the case may be: Provided, That no such tax shall be collected on the intoxicating liquors sold or purchased from holders of a license issued under the provisions of article seven of this chapter.
All such tax collected within one mile of the corporate limits of any municipality within the state shall be remitted to such municipality; all other tax so collected shall be remitted to the county wherein collected: Provided, That where the corporate limits of more than one municipality be within one mile of the place of collection of such tax, all such tax collected shall be divided equally among each of said municipalities: Provided, however, That such mile is measured by the most direct hard surface road or access way usually and customarily used as ingress and egress to the place of tax collection.
The West Virginia alcohol beverage control commissioner by appropriate rules and regulations shall provide for the collection of such tax upon all purchases outside the corporate limits of any municipality of intoxicating liquor from state stores or other agencies of the alcohol beverage control commissioner, separation or proration of the same and distribution thereof to the respective counties and municipalities for which the same shall be collected. The tax commissioner by appropriate rules and regulations shall provide for the collection of such tax upon all purchases outside the corporate limits of any municipality of wine from any person licensed to sell wine at retail under the provisions of article eight, chapter sixty of this code, or from distributors licensed to sell or distribute wine under the provisions of said article eight, and shall also provide for separation or proration of the same and distribution thereof to the respective counties and municipalities for which the same shall be collected. Such rules and regulations shall provide that all such taxes shall be deposited with the state treasurer and distributed quarterly by the treasurer upon warrants of the auditor payable to the counties and municipalities.
ARTICLE 3A. SALES BY RETAIL LIQUOR LICENSEES.
§60-3A-21. Tax on purchases of liquor.

(a) For the purpose of providing financial assistance to and for the use and benefit of the various counties and municipalities of this state, there is hereby levied tax upon all purchases of liquor from retail licensees. The tax shall be five seven and one-half percent of the purchase price and shall be added to and collected with the purchase price by the retail licensee.
(b) All such tax collected within the corporate limits of a municipality in this state shall be remitted to such municipality; all such tax collected outside of but within one mile of the corporate limits of any municipality shall be remitted to such municipality; and all other tax so collected shall be remitted to the county wherein collected: Provided, That where the corporate limits of more than one municipality be within one mile of the place of collection of such tax, all such tax collected shall be divided equally among each of such municipalities: Provided, however, That such mile is measured by the most direct hard surface road or access way usually and customarily used as ingress and egress to the place of tax collection.
(c) The tax commissioner, by appropriate rule promulgated pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, shall provide for the collection of such tax upon all purchases from retail licensees, separation or proration of the same and distribution thereof to the respective counties and municipalities for which the same shall be collected. Such rule shall provide that all such taxes shall be deposited with the state treasurer and distributed quarterly by the state treasurer upon warrants of the auditor payable to the counties and municipalities.
ARTICLE 8. SALE OF WINES.
§60-8-4. Liter tax.

There is hereby levied and imposed on all wine sold after the thirtieth day of April, one thousand nine hundred eighty-three two thousand three, by suppliers to distributors, except wine sold to the commissioner, a tax of twenty-six and four hundred six-thousandths thirty-nine and six hundred nine thousandths cents per liter.
Before the sixteenth day of each month thereafter, every supplier shall make a written report under oath to the tax commissioner showing the identity of the purchaser, the quantity, label and alcoholic content of wine sold by the supplier to West Virginia distributors during the preceding month, and at the same time shall pay the tax imposed by this article on the wine sold to the distributor during the preceding month.
The reports shall contain other information and be in the form the tax commissioner may require. For purposes of this article, the reports required by this section shall be considered tax returns covered by the provisions of article ten, chapter eleven of this code.
No wine imported, sold or distributed in this state shall be subject to more than one liter tax.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the tax on beer, wine and alcoholic liquors by fifty percent.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.