WEST VIRGINIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE X
TAXATION & FINANCE
Art. X §1 | TAXATION AND FINANCE
Art. X §1a | EXEMPTIONS FROM AND ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS TO AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXATION
The Legislature shall not impose ad valorem property taxation upon money, bank deposits and other investments determined by such law to be in the nature of deposits in a bank or other financial institution, or upon pensions, moneys or investments determined by the Legislature in such law to be in lieu of or otherwise in the nature of pensions.
The Legislature by general law may exempt from such taxation any amount of the value of all or certain intangible personal property and any type, group or class of such intangibles but such exemptions shall be uniform throughout the state. No tax imposed upon such intangibles shall be at a rate or rates in excess of the maximum rate permitted to be imposed upon personal property employed exclusively in agriculture as provided in sections one, one-b or ten of this article, as the case may be, in the county wherein the intangible personal property has situs, as such situs is determined by the Legislature in such general law.
The valuations with respect to property acquired or created subsequent to any statewide reappraisal and the valuations with respect to any intangible personal property subjected to ad valorem property taxation pursuant to this section shall be allocated and phased-in over a period of years and be valued with respect to the same base year as other property subject to ad valorem property taxation in order to provide for equitable and similar treatment of such property subsequently acquired or created or such intangible personal property as compared to similarly situated previously existing property of similar value whose owner is receiving the benefit of any allocation and phase-in allowed pursuant to section one-b of this article.
Any intangible personal property which would be subject to ad valorem property taxation under prior provisions of this Constitution shall continue to be subjected to such taxation as provided by and in accordance with current statutory law for the assessment of such taxes upon such property, which laws are hereby validated for such purpose or purposes, until the first day of July in the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-five or until the first statewide reappraisal of property pursuant to section one-b of this article shall be first implemented and employed to fix values for ad valorem property taxation, whichever shall last occur, and thereafter no intangible personal property shall be subject to such taxation save for and except as provided by the Legislature by general law enacted after the ratification of the amendment of this section in the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-four.
Art. X §1b | PROPERTY TAX LIMITATION AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AMENDMENT OF 1982
Subsection A -- Value; Rate of Assessment; Exceptions
Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, and the first day of July of each year thereafter until the values may be fixed as a result of the first statewide reappraisal hereinafter required, assessments shall be made under the provisions of current statutory law, which is hereby validated for such purpose until and unless amended by the Legislature. Assessment and taxation in accord with this section shall be deemed to be equal and uniform for all purposes.
Subsection B -- Determination of Value
(2) the location of the property, and
(3) such other factors and methods as it may determine:
The Legislature shall further prescribe by general law the manner in which each statewide reappraisal shall be employed to establish the value of the various separately assessed parcels or interests in parcels of real property and various items of personal property subject to ad valorem property taxation, the methods by which increases and reductions in value subsequent to the base year of each statewide reappraisal shall be ascertained, and require the enforcement thereof.
Subsection C -- General Homestead Exemption
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution to the contrary, the Legislature shall have the authority to provide by general law for an exemption from ad valorem property taxation in an amount not to exceed the first twenty thousand dollars of value of any real property, or of personal property in the form of a mobile home, used exclusively for residential purposes and occupied by the owner or one of the owners thereof as his residence who is a citizen of this state, and who is under sixty-five years of age and not totally and permanently disabled: Provided, That upon enactment of such general law, this exemption shall only apply to such property in any county in which the property was appraised at its value as of the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred eighty, or thereafter, as determined by the Legislature, and this exemption shall be phased in over such period of time not to exceed five years from the date such property was so appraised, or such longer time as the Legislature may determine by general law: Provided, however, That in no event shall any one person and his spouse, or one homestead be entitled to more than one exemption under these provisions: Provided further, That these provisions are subject to such requirements, limitations and conditions as shall be prescribed by general law.
The Legislature shall have the authority to provide by general law for property tax relief to citizens of this state who are tenants of residential or farm property.
Subsection D -- Additional Limitations on Value
The Legislature may by general law also provide for the phasing in of any subsequent statewide reappraisal of property.
Subsection E -- Levies for Free Schools
Within the limits of the maximum levies permitted for excess levies for schools or better schools in sections one and ten of this article, the Legislature may, in lieu of the exercise of such powers by the local school districts as heretofore provided, submit to the voters, by general law, a statewide excess levy, and if it be approved by the required number of voters, impose such levy, subject however to all the limitations and requirements for the approval of such levies as in the case of a district levy. The law submitting the question to the voters shall provide, upon approval of the levy by the voters, for the assumption of the obligation of any local excess levies for schools then in force theretofore authorized by the voters of a local taxing unit to the extent of such excess levies imposed by the state and so as to avoid double taxation of those local districts. The Legislature may also by general law reserve to the school districts such portions of the power to lay authorized excess levies as it may deem appropriate to enable local school districts to provide educational services which are not required to be furnished or supported by the state. If a statewide excess levy for the support of free schools is approved by the required majority, the revenue from such a statewide excess levy shall be deposited in the state treasury and be allocated first for the local obligations assumed and thereafter for such part of the state effort to support free schools, by appropriation or as the law submitting the levy to the voters shall require, as the case may be.
The defeat of any such proposed statewide excess levy for school purposes shall not in any way abrogate or impair any local existing excess levy for such purpose nor prevent the adoption of any future local excess levy for such purpose.
Subsection F -- Implementation
Art. X §1c | EXEMPTION FROM AD VALOREM TAXATION OF CERTAIN PERSONAL PROPERTY OF INVENTORY AND WAREHOUSE GOODS, WITH PHASE IN TO FULL EXEMPTION OVER FIVE-YEAR PERIOD
The exemption allowed by the preceding paragraph shall be phased in over a period of five consecutive assessment years, at the rate of one fifth of the assessed value of the property per assessment year, beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven.
Art. X §2 | [REPEALED]
Art. X §3 | RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF PUBLIC MONEYS
Art. X §4 | LIMITATION ON CONTRACTING OF STATE DEBT
Art. X §5 | POWER OF TAXATION
Art. X §6 | CREDIT OF STATE NOT TO BE GRANTED IN CERTAIN CASES
Art. X §6a | APPROPRIATIONS AND TAXATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE
(2) the Legislature may impose a state tax or taxes or dedicate a state tax or taxes or any portion thereof for the benefit of and use by counties, municipalities or other political subdivisions of the state for public purposes, the proceeds of any such imposed or dedicated tax or taxes or portion thereof to be distributed to such counties, municipalities or other political subdivisions of the state under such circumstances and subject to such terms, conditions and restrictions as the Legislature may prescribe by law.
Art. X §7 | DUTIES OF COUNTY AUTHORITIES IN ASSESSING TAXES
Art. X §8 | BONDED INDEBTEDNESS OF COUNTIES, ETC
Art. X §8a | ISSUANCE OF BONDS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS PAYABLE FROM PROPERTY TAXES ON INCREASES IN VALUE DUE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES
The bonds or other obligations are payable from property tax revenues generated by the increases in value of property located within the development or redevelopment project area or district due to capital investment in the project. The Legislature shall prescribe by general law the manner in which these increases are determined.
The term for any bonds or other obligations issued may not exceed thirty tax years. The bonds or other obligations may not be deemed to be general obligations of the issuing county or municipality or of this state. The bonds or other obligations may provide for the pledge of any other funds as the owner of the improvements may by contract or otherwise be required to pay. Upon payment in full of the bonds, the increased tax revenues shall revert to the levying bodies authorized under the provisions of this Constitution to receive the revenues. The bonds or other obligations may not be paid from excess levy, bond levy or other special levy revenues.
Art. X §9 | MUNICIPAL TAXES TO BE UNIFORM
Art. X §10 | SCHOOL LEVY AND BOND AMENDMENT
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Constitution to the contrary, the maximum rates provided for tax levies by school districts on the several classes of property may be used entirely for current expense purposes; and all levies required for principal and interest payments on any bonded indebtedness, now or hereafter contracted, not to exceed five per cent on the value of the taxable property therein, the value to be ascertained in accordance with section eight of this article, shall be laid separate and apart and in addition to such maximum rates, but in the same proportions as such maximum rates are levied on the several classes of property.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section eight of this article relating to a vote of the people or any other provisions of this Constitution, a county board of education may contract indebtedness and issue bonds for public school purposes as provided by law, if, when submitted to a vote of the people of the county, in the manner provided by law, the question of contracting indebtedness and issuing bonds is approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against the same.
Art. X §11 | COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EXCESS LEVY AMENDMENT
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article eleven, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered “Amendment No. 2” and designated as the “Equalizing Number of Years of Excess Levies Amendment” and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows:
“The purpose of this amendment is to allow county and municipal governments to propose excess levies for the same time periods as boards of education, which is up to five years.”
Art. X §12 | NONPROFIT YOUTH ORGANIZATION REVENUE EXEMPTION
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