ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 105
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,By Request of the Executive)
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[Passed March 7, 2003; to take effect May 1, 2003.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections three and four, article
seventeen, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
the tax on tobacco products; and increasing the rate of the
tax on cigarettes from seventeen cents to fifty-five cents.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three and four, article seventeen, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 17. TOBACCO PRODUCTS EXCISE TAX ACT.
§11-17-3. Levy of tax; ratio; dedication of proceeds.
(a) Tax on cigarettes. -- For the purpose of providing revenue
for the general revenue fund of the state, an excise tax is hereby
levied and imposed on sales of cigarettes at the rate of fifty-five
cents on each twenty cigarettes or in like ratio on any part
thereof. Only one sale of the same article shall be used in
computing the amount of tax due under this subsection.
(b) Tax on tobacco products other than cigarettes. --
Effective the first day of January, two thousand two, an excise tax
is hereby levied and imposed on the sale or use of, other than
cigarettes, tobacco products at a rate equal to seven percent of
the wholesale price of each article or item of tobacco product
other than cigarettes sold by the wholesaler or subjobber dealer,
whether or not sold at wholesale, or if not sold, then at the same
rate upon the use by the wholesaler or dealer. Only one sale of
the same article shall be used in computing the amount of tax due
under this subsection. Revenues received from this tax shall be
deposited into the general revenue fund.
(c) Effective date. -- The changes set forth herein to this
section and section four of this article shall become effective the
first day of May, two thousand three.
§11-17-4. Effect of rate changes; tobacco products on hand or in
inventory; report; discount.
(a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this article, it is
hereby declared to be the intent of the Legislature that one rate
of excise tax is applicable to all quantities of cigarettes and
another rate of excise tax is applicable to all tobacco products
other than cigarettes in this state on and after the first day of
July, two thousand one, under the provisions of this article. Any
tobacco products, on hand or in inventory, on the effective date of
any rate change are hereby considered to have been purchased or
received on the effective date of the change in rate.
(b) Every wholesaler, subjobber, subjobber dealer, retail
dealer and vending machine operator who, on the effective date of
any rate change, has, on hand or in inventory, any tobacco products
or cigarette tax stamps, upon which the tax or any portion of the
tax has been previously paid, shall take a physical inventory and
shall file a report of the inventory with the tax commissioner, in
the format required by the tax commissioner, within thirty days
after the inventory and shall pay to the tax commissioner any
additional tax due under an increased rate in accordance with the
following schedule:
(1) One-third at the time of filing the report;
(2) One-third not later than sixty days after the effective
date of the rate change; and
(3) One-third not later than ninety days after the effective
date of the rate change.
A discount of four percent shall be allowed on all tax due for
persons who pay additional tax under this section.
(c) Imposition of the tax on tobacco products other than
cigarettes shall be treated as a change in rate on the effective
date of the tax.