Senate Bill No. 538

(By Senator Minard)

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[Introduced February 14, 2003; referred to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article three, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing a supplemental assessment on personal property when personal property has been omitted from the recordbooks.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article three, 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 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.

§11-3-5. Correction of previous property books; entry of omitted property.

The assessor, in making out the land and personal property books, shall correct any and every mistake he or she shall discover in the books for any previous year.
When the assessor shall ascertain that any real or personal property in his or her county liable to taxation, other than that mentioned in the next succeeding paragraph, has been omitted from the land or personal property books for a period of less than five years, he or she shall make an entry thereof in the proper book of the year in which such omission was discovered and assess the same according to the rule prescribed in section one of this article and shall charge the same with all taxes chargeable against it at the rate of levy for the year or years the same was omitted, together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent per annum for the years the same was omitted from the books: Provided, That if the taxpayer requires proof of payment of personal property taxes pursuant to section three-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code, then the taxpayer may file a listing of all personal property owned on the assessment date preceding the tax year or years for which proof must be shown to the assessor. The assessor shall then create a supplemental assessment for the year or years required for proof of payment of all personal property provided on the listing and present the supplemental assessment to the sheriff who shall apply the levy rate or rates for the year or years so assessed and prepare a tax bill and collect the taxes together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent per annum for the years the same was omitted from the books and any penalties included thereon.
And when the assessor shall ascertain that any notes, bonds, bills and accounts receivable, stocks and other intangible personal property in his or her county liable to taxation has been omitted from the personal property books for a period of five years or less after December thirty-first, one thousand nine hundred thirty-two, he or she shall make entry thereof in the personal property book of the year in which such omission was discovered and assess the same at its true and actual value according to the rule prescribed in section one of this article, and shall charge the same with all taxes chargeable against it after the year last aforesaid at the rate of levy for the year or years the same was omitted after the year aforesaid, together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent per annum for the years the same was omitted from the books.
Any assessor failing to make such entry as in this section provided, when discovered by him or her or called to his or her attention by any taxpayer interested therein, shall forfeit one hundred dollars.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the assessor to create a supplemental assessment on personal property that was omitted from the record books.

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