FISCAL NOTE



FUND(S):

General Revenue Fund

Sources of Revenue:

General Fund

Legislation creates:

Neither Program nor Fund



Fiscal Note Summary


Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.


The stated purpose of this bill is to impose a $500 tax on all persons holding more than 1,000 acres of land, with the exception of federal, state and family-owned farms. According to our interpretation, passage of this bill would result in a slight gain to the General Revenue Fund. The provisions of the bill effectively provide a significant incentive to split-off property ownership into numerous entities, each with title to no more than 1,000 acres. Additional administrative costs to the State Tax Department associated with this bill would be minimal.



Fiscal Note Detail


Effect of Proposal Fiscal Year
2007
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
2008
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost 524 0 0
Personal Services 0 0 0
Current Expenses 524 0 0
Repairs and Alterations 0 0 0
Assets 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0
2. Estimated Total Revenues 0 0 0


Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):


The stated purpose of this bill is to impose a $500 tax on all persons holding more than 1,000 acres of land, with the exception of federal, state and family-owned farms. According to our interpretation, passage of this bill would result in a slight gain to the General Revenue Fund. The provisions of the bill effectively provide a significant incentive to split-off property ownership into numerous entities, each with title to no more than 1,000 acres. Additional administrative costs to the State Tax Department associated with this bill would be minimal.



Memorandum


The stated purpose of this bill is to impose a $500 tax on all persons holding more than 1,000 acres of land, with the exception of federal, state and family-owned farms. The note of the bill states that “a $500 tax” is to be imposed, while the text of the bill states that rate of tax is to be “five hundred dollars per acre.” The former indicates that the tax rate is a flat $500, while the latter statement indicates a rate of $500 per acre.



    Person submitting Fiscal Note: Mark Muchow
    Email Address: kpetry@tax.state.wv.us