ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2955
(By Delegates Caputo, Manchin, Klempa,
Paxton, Shook and Marshall)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[February 8, 2007]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-14C-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to extending the date to which the
rate of the flat-rate component of the motor fuel excise tax
will remain at twenty and one-half cents per invoiced gallon.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-14C-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §11-14C-47 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14C. MOTOR FUEL EXCISE TAX.
PART 2. MOTOR FUEL TAX; LIABILITY.
§11-14C-5. Taxes levied; rate.
(a) There is hereby levied on all motor fuel an excise tax
composed of a flat rate equal to twenty and one-half cents per
invoiced gallon plus a variable component comprised of either the
tax imposed by section eighteen-b, article fifteen of this chapter
or the tax imposed under section thirteen-a, article fifteen-a of this chapter, as applicable:
Provided, That the motor fuel excise
tax shall take effect the first day of January, two thousand four:
Provided, however, That on and after the first day of August, two
thousand
seven thirteen, the flat rate portion of the motor fuel
excise tax shall be fifteen and one-half cents per gallon:
Provided further, That the variable component shall be equal to
five percent of the average wholesale price of the motor fuel:
And
provided further, That the average wholesale price shall be no less
than ninety-seven cents per invoiced gallon and is computed as
hereinafter prescribed in this section.
(b)
Determination of average wholesale price. --
(1) To simplify determining the average wholesale price of all
motor fuel, the Tax Commissioner shall, effective with the period
beginning the first day of the month of the effective date of
this
section the tax and each first day of January thereafter, determine
the average wholesale price of motor fuel for each annual period on
the basis of sales data gathered for the preceding period of the
first day of July through the thirty-first day of October.
Notification of the average wholesale price of motor fuel shall be
given by the Tax Commissioner at least thirty days in advance of
each first day of January by filing notice of the average wholesale
price in the state register, and by any other means as the Tax
Commissioner considers reasonable
: Provided, That notice of the
average wholesale price of motor fuel for the first period shall be
timely given if filed in the state register on the effective date of this section.
(2) The "average wholesale price" means the single, statewide
average per gallon wholesale price, rounded to the third decimal
(thousandth of a cent), exclusive of state and federal excise taxes
on each gallon of motor fuel, as determined by the Tax Commissioner
from information furnished by suppliers, importers and distributors
of motor fuel in this state, or other information regarding
wholesale selling prices as the Tax Commissioner may gather, or a
combination of information:
Provided, That in no event shall the
average wholesale price be determined to be less than ninety-seven
cents per gallon of motor fuel.
(3) All actions of the Tax Commissioner in acquiring data
necessary to establish and determine the average wholesale price of
motor fuel, in providing notification of his or her determination
prior to the effective date of any change in rate, and in
establishing and determining the average wholesale price of motor
fuel, may be made by the Tax Commissioner without compliance with
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code.
(4) In any administrative or court proceeding brought to
challenge the average wholesale price of motor fuel as determined
by the Tax Commissioner, his or her determination is presumed to be
correct and shall not be set aside unless it is clearly erroneous.
(c) There is hereby levied a floorstocks tax on motor fuel
held in storage outside the bulk transfer/terminal system as of the
close of the business day preceding the first day of January, two thousand four, and upon which the tax levied by this section has
not been paid. For the purposes of this section, "close of the
business day" means the time at which the last transaction has
occurred for that day. The floorstocks tax is payable by the
person in possession of the motor fuel on the first day of January,
two thousand four. The amount of the floorstocks tax on motor fuel
is equal to the sum of the tax rate specified in subsection (a) of
this section multiplied by the gallons in storage as of the close
of the business day preceding the first day of January, two
thousand four.
(1) Persons in possession of taxable motor fuel in storage
outside the bulk transfer/terminal system as of the close of the
business day preceding the first day of January, two thousand four,
shall:
(A) Take an inventory at the close of the business day
preceding the first day of January, two thousand four, to determine
the gallons in storage for purposes of determining the floorstocks
tax;
(B) Report no later than the thirty-first day of January, two
thousand four, the gallons on forms provided by the commissioner;
and
(C) Remit the tax levied under this section no later than the
first day of June, two thousand four.
(2) In the event the tax due is paid to the commissioner on or
before the thirty-first day of January, two thousand four, the
person remitting the tax may deduct from their remittance five percent of the tax liability due.
(3) In the event the tax due is paid to the commissioner after
the first day of June, two thousand four, the person remitting the
tax shall pay, in addition to the tax, a penalty in the amount of
five percent of the tax liability due.
(4) In determining the amount of floorstocks tax due under
this section, the amount of motor fuel in dead storage may be
excluded. There are two methods for calculating the amount of
motor fuel in dead storage:
(A) If the tank has a capacity of less than ten thousand
gallons, the amount of motor fuel in dead storage is two hundred
gallons and if the tank has a capacity of ten thousand gallons or
more, the amount of motor fuel in dead storage is four hundred
gallons; or
(B) Use the manufacturer's conversion table for the tank after
measuring the number of inches between the bottom of the tank and
the bottom of the mouth of the drainpipe:
Provided, That the
distance between the bottom of the tank and the bottom of the mouth
of the draw pipe is presumed to be six inches.
(d) Every licensee who, on the effective date of any rate
change, has in inventory any motor fuel upon which the tax or any
portion thereof has been previously paid shall take a physical
inventory and file a report thereof with the commissioner, in the
format as required by the commissioner, within thirty days after
the effective date of the rate change, and shall pay to the
commissioner at the time of filing the report any additional tax due under the increased rate.
§11-14C-47. Disposition of tax collected; dedicated receipts.
(a) There is hereby created and established in the state
treasury a special revolving fund to be known and designated as the
"Motor Fuel General Tax Administration Fund." The commissioner is
authorized to retain one half of one percent of the tax collected
pursuant to the provisions of this article: Provided, That in any
fiscal year in which the tax collected pursuant to the provisions
of this article exceed three hundred million dollars, the
commissioner is authorized to retain an additional one percent of
the tax in excess of the three hundred million dollars that is
collected. The amounts retained by the commissioner under this
subsection shall be deposited in the motor fuel general tax
administration fund and may be expended for the general
administration of taxes imposed by this chapter.
(b)(1) All remaining tax collected under the provisions of
this article after deducting the amount of any refunds lawfully
paid shall be paid into the state road fund and used only for the
purpose of construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of
highways, matching of federal moneys available for highway purposes
and payment of the interest and sinking fund obligations on state
bonds issued for highway purposes, subject to the provisions of
subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(2) After the thirtieth day of June, two thousand seven, from
the taxes paid to the commissioner on or before the last day of each month pursuant to section nineteen of this article, after
deduction of the amounts retained under subsection (a) of this
section, an amount equal to the first four million six hundred
thousand dollars of each month's receipts shall be paid into a
segregated account within the state road fund for expenditure only
for the specially dedicated purposes described in this subdivision
and only upon specific line-item appropriation of the Legislature.
The purposes for which the funds in the segregated account may be
expended are the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
restoration, repair, maintenance and repair of the roads and
highways throughout the various counties of the state for which
federal moneys are not available on as fair and equitable a basis
as the Legislature may determine through the enactment of
appropriations bills. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary, no funds appropriated for expenditure in
those specific line-items may be transferred between line-items or
otherwise expended for other purposes except pursuant to the
enactment of a subsequent appropriations bill.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
