West Virginia Code 11-1A-4 – Identification of property to be appraised; persons required to make return
(a) On or before December 1, 1983, every person who owns property which was situate in this state on July 1, 1983, shall prepare a return itemizing and describing such property, whether real or personal, and shall file such return with the assessor of the assessment district wherein such property is located, except in the case of a taxpayer whose annual return for the assessment of property is filed with some other public officer, then the return required by this section shall be filed with the Tax Commissioner who shall allocate the contents to the appropriate counties by such means as he determines appropriate. The form for the return shall be designed by the Tax Commissioner, and shall provide a means for the orderly listing of all property not excepted from listing under the provisions of section five of this article. A similar return, itemizing and listing such property, shall also be made, at the same time, by every person holding, possessing or controlling real or personal property as executor, administrator, guardian, trustee, receiver, agent, partner, attorney, president or accounting officer of a corporation, consignee, broker, or in any representative or fiduciary character.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 11-1A-4
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Commissioner: means the State Tax Commissioner. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
- Corporation: means a corporation or joint-stock association, organized under the laws of this state, the United States or any other state, territory or foreign country or dependency including, but not limited to, banking institutions. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means every natural person, association or corporation. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
- 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 Commissioner: shall mean the chief executive officer of the state Tax Department except in those instances where the context clearly relates to the West Virginia appraisal control and review commission, in which case "commissioner" shall mean any member of such commission. See West Virginia Code 11-1A-3
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) The return required by subsection (a) of this section shall be made and the information furnished:
(1) With respect to an individual who is deceased, the return of such individual required under subsection (a) shall be made by his or her executor, administrator, or other person charged with the property of such decedent;
(2) With respect to a person under a disability who is unable to make a return required under subsection (a), the return of such individual shall be made by a duly authorized agent, committee, guardian, fiduciary or other person charged with the care of the person or property of such individual: Provided, That this subdivision shall not apply in the case of a receiver appointed by authority of law in possession of only a part of the property of an individual;
(3) With respect to a case where a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or assignee by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, by operation of law or otherwise, has possession of or holds title to all or substantially all of the property or business of a corporation, whether or not such property or business is being operated, such receiver, trustee, or assignee shall make the return for such corporation in the same manner and form as corporations are required to make such returns;
(4) With respect to property of an estate or a trust, the return shall be made by the fiduciary thereof; and
(5) With respect to the property of a married person who is absent from the state, the return shall be made by his or her spouse.
(c) A return made by one or two or more joint fiduciaries shall be sufficient compliance with the requirements of this section in any case where the return is required to be made by a fiduciary.
(d) With regard to real property not excepted from listing for appraisal under the provisions of section five of this article, a summary legal description sufficient to identify and locate the property shall be given for each parcel of real estate, and, if applicable, the name of the street and number, its area, and if improved, a short statement of the character of the improvements.