West Virginia Code 11-15A-11 – Liability of user
(a) Any person who uses any tangible personal property, custom software or the results of a taxable service upon which the tax herein imposed has not been paid either to a retailer or direct to the Tax Commissioner is liable for the amount of the nonpayment, and persons required by law to hold a West Virginia business registration certificate shall on or before the fifteenth day of the month next succeeding each quarterly period pay the tax imposed in section two of this article upon all the property and services used by him or her during the preceding quarterly period and accompanied by returns the Tax Commissioner prescribes: Provided, That if the aggregate annual tax liability of any person under this article is $600 or less, the person shall, in lieu of the quarterly payment and filing, pay the tax on or before the fifteenth day of the first month next succeeding the end of his or her taxable year, and shall file the annual return as may be prescribed by the Tax Commissioner. The Tax Commissioner may, by nonemergency legislative rules promulgated pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, change the foregoing minimum amounts.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 11-15A-11
- Business: means any activity engaged in by any person, or caused to be engaged in by any person, with the object of direct or indirect economic gain, benefit or advantage, and includes any purposeful revenue generating activity in this state. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
- commissioner: means the State Tax Commissioner, or his or her delegate. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
- Person: includes any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, association, public or private corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, cooperative, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, executor, administrator, any other fiduciary, any representative appointed by order of any court or otherwise acting on behalf of others, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Retailer: means and includes every person engaging in the business of selling, leasing or renting tangible personal property or custom software or furnishing a taxable service for use within the meaning of this article, or in the business of selling, at auction, tangible personal property or custom software owned by the person or others for use in this state: Provided, That when in the opinion of the Tax Commissioner it is necessary for the efficient administration of this article to regard any salespersons, representatives, truckers, peddlers or canvassers as the agents of the dealers, distributors, supervisors, employees or persons under whom they operate or from whom they obtain the tangible personal property sold by them, irrespective of whether they are making sales on their own behalf or on behalf of the dealers, distributors, supervisors, employers or persons, the Tax Commissioner may so regard them and may regard the dealers, distributors, supervisors, employers, or persons as retailers for purposes of this article. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
- service: means and includes, but is not limited to, customer support services, help desk services, call center services, repair services, engineering services, installation service, assembly service, delivery service by means other than common carrier or the United States Postal Service, technical assistance services, the service of investigating, handling or otherwise assisting in resolving customer issues or complaints while in this state, the service of operating a mail order business or telephone, Internet or other remote order business from facilities located within this state, the service of operating a website or Internet-based business from a location within the state, or any other service. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
- Tax year: means the calendar year following the July first assessment day or, in the case of a public service business assessed pursuant to article six of this chapter, the calendar year beginning on the January first assessment day. See West Virginia Code 11-5-3
- Use: means and includes:
(A) The exercise by any person of any right or power over tangible personal property or custom software incident to the ownership, possession or enjoyment of the property, or by any transaction in which possession of or the exercise of any right or power over tangible personal property, custom software or the result of a taxable service is acquired for a consideration, including any lease, rental or conditional sale of tangible personal property or custom software. See West Virginia Code 11-15A-1
(b) Any individual who is not required by law to hold a West Virginia business registration certificate, who uses any personal property or taxable service upon which the West Virginia use tax has not been paid either to a retailer or directly to the Tax Commissioner is liable for the West Virginia use tax upon property or taxable services and, notwithstanding the amount of the annual aggregate annual tax liability, shall pay the use tax imposed upon all property or taxable services used by him or her during the taxpayer's federal taxable year on or before April 15 of the taxpayer's next succeeding federal tax year, and shall file the annual return therewith as the Tax Commissioner may authorize or require.
(c) All of the provisions of section ten with reference to quarterly or annual returns and payments are applicable to the returns and payments required under this section.