West Virginia Code 11-13A-3c – Imposition of tax on privilege of severing other natural resources
(a) Imposition of tax. — For the privilege of engaging or continuing within this state in the business of severing, extracting, reducing to possession and producing for sale, profit or commercial use any other natural resource product or product not taxed under section three, three-a, three-b or four of this article, there is hereby levied and shall be collected from every person exercising this privilege an annual privilege tax.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 11-13A-3c
- Business: includes all activities engaged in, or caused to be engaged in, with the object of gain or economic benefit, direct or indirect, and whether engaged in for profit, or not for profit, or by a governmental entity: Provided, That "business" does not include services rendered by an employee within the scope of his or her contract of employment. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- Gross proceeds: means the value, whether in money or other property, actually proceeding from the sale or lease of tangible personal property, or from the rendering of services, without any deduction for the cost of property sold or leased or expenses of any kind. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- Natural resources: means all forms of minerals including, but not limited to, rock, stone, limestone, coal, shale, gravel, sand, clay, natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids which are contained in or on the soils or waters of this state and includes standing timber. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- Person: means every natural person, association or corporation. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
- Producer: means the person who is actually engaged in the agriculture, horticulture and grazing which gives existence and fruition to products of agriculture as distinguished from the broker or middleman. See West Virginia Code 11-5-3
- Sale: includes any transfer of the ownership or title to property, whether for money or in exchange for other property or services, or any combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Tax: means any tax imposed by this article and, for purposes of administration and collection of such tax, it includes any interest, additions to tax or penalties imposed with respect thereto under article ten of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- This state: means the State of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 11-13A-2
- Value: means in the case of any document not a gift, the amount of the full actual consideration for the document, paid or to be paid, including the amount of any lien or liens assumed. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
(b) Rate and measure of tax. — The tax imposed in subsection (a) of this section shall be four percent of the gross value of the natural resource produced, as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale thereof by producer, except as otherwise provided in this article: Provided, That beginning July 1, 1993, the tax imposed by this section shall be levied and collected at the rate of four and one-half percent, and beginning July 1, 1994, the tax imposed by this section shall be levied and collected at the rate of five percent: Provided, however, That there is an exemption from the imposition of the tax provided for in this article for 9 years beginning July 1, 2023, for severing, extracting, reducing to possession and producing for sale, profit or commercial use rare earth elements and critical minerals. For the purposes of this section, “rare earth elements” (also known as rare earth metals or rare earth oxides) are only yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and scandium, and “critical minerals” are only aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, iridium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zinc, zirconium, uranium, osmium, strontium, rhenium, potash, and bauxite.
(c) Tax in addition to other taxes. — The tax imposed by this section shall apply to all persons severing other natural resources in this state, and shall be in addition to all other taxes imposed by law.
(d) Effective date. — This section, as amended in the year 1993, shall apply to gross proceeds derived after May 31 of such year. The language of section three of this article, as in effect on January 1, of such year, shall apply to gross proceeds derived prior to June 1 of such year and, with respect to such gross proceeds, shall be fully and completely preserved.