Senate Bill No. 147
(By Senators Oliverio, Kessler, Helmick and Bailey)
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[Introduced January 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-18-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the hotel occupancy tax
generally; and allowing counties to increase the rate of tax
imposed to six percent.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-18-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 18. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
§7-18-2. Rate of tax.
The rate of tax imposed shall be three percent of the
consideration paid for the use or occupancy of a hotel room:
Provided, That on and after the first day of July, two thousand
five, a municipality may by ordinance increase the rate of tax
imposed in this section to not more than six percent of the
consideration paid for the use or occupancy of a hotel room:
Provided, however, That notwithstanding any other provision of this
article to the contrary, a municipality may not impose any tax
authorized by this article on a hotel located within its corporate
limits upon which a county was imposing a tax authorized by this
article on or after the first day of January, two thousand five,
and continuously thereafter to and including the effective date of
annexation of the territory in which the hotel is located pursuant
to article six, chapter eight of this code and as to that hotel,
the county is authorized to continue to impose and collect the tax
authorized by this article at the rate of three percent of the
consideration paid for the use or occupancy of a hotel room:
Provided further, That in the event the county commission duly
enters an order of record that ceases to impose the tax authorized
by this article on that hotel, then, as to that hotel, the
municipality in which the hotel is located by reason of the
annexation may impose the tax authorized by this article. Prior to
the second reading of an ordinance proposed by a municipality to
increase the rate of tax, the municipality shall conduct a properly
noticed public hearing on the issue:
Provided, That on and after
the first day of July, two thousand seven, a county may by duly
entering an order of record, increase the rate of tax imposed in
this section not more than six percent of the consideration paid
for the use or occupancy of a hotel room. The consideration paid
for the use or occupancy of a hotel room shall not include the amount of tax imposed on the transaction under article fifteen,
chapter eleven of this code or charges for meals, valet service,
room service, telephone service or other charges or consideration
not paid for use or occupancy of a hotel room.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow counties to
increase the Occupancy Tax on hotel use and stay to six percent of
consideration.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.