Senate Bill No. 83

(By Senators Rowe, Love, Unger, Smith and Harrison)

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[Introduced January 9, 2003; referred to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend article fifteen, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-h, relating to reducing the sales tax on packaged food and fresh-grown food sold for human consumption off the premises from six percent to five percent; providing a definition; and procedure for eventual elimination of the tax.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fifteen, chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-h, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. CONSUMERS SALES AND SERVICE TAX.

§11-15-9h. Reducing sales tax on food.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the sales tax on packaged and fresh grown food sold for human consumption off the premises where sold, shall be reduced from six percent to five percent effective the first day of July, two thousand three, and shall be reduced by one additional percent on the first day of July each year following any fiscal year during which revenues paid into the general revenue fund exceed by more than twenty million dollars the amount of revenues paid to the general revenue fund in the prior fiscal year, until the sales tax on this food is eliminated.
(b) As used in this section, the term "packaged food and fresh grown food sold for human consumption" does not include food prepared in a kitchen or restaurant on premises of the retail facility for carry out and immediate consumption by the purchaser or persons related to or associated with the purchaser.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce the sales tax on packaged food and fresh grown food sold for human consumption off the premises where sold from six percent to five percent, with eventual elimination of the tax by one percent a year, if revenues in the general revenue fund exceed the prior fiscal year collections by twenty million dollars in each succeeding year.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.