West Virginia Amendment 2, Authorize Tax Exemptions for Vehicles and Personal Property Used for Business Measure (2022)
| West Virginia Amendment 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
Status Defeated | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
West Virginia Amendment 2, the Authorize Tax Exemptions for Vehicles and Personal Property Used for Business Amendment, was on the ballot in West Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.[1] The measure was defeated.
A "yes" vote supported amending the West Virginia Constitution to authorize the state legislature to exempt personal property (machinery, equipment, and inventory) used for business activity and personal motor vehicle property tax from ad valorem property taxes. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the West Virginia Constitution to authorize the state legislature to exempt personal property (machinery, equipment, and inventory) used for business activity and personal motor vehicle property tax from ad valorem property taxes. |
Election results
|
West Virginia Amendment 2 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 170,013 | 35.49% | ||
|
|
309,007 | 64.51% | ||
Overview
How would the amendment have changed taxes on tangible personal property?
- See also: Text of measure
The measure would have amended Article X of the West Virginia Constitution to exempt tangible personal property (machinery, equipment, and inventory) used for business activity and personal property tax on motor vehicles from ad valorem property taxes.[2]
As of 2022, the state constitution exempted "property used for educational, literary, scientific, religious or charitable purposes, all cemeteries, public property, the personal property, including livestock, employed exclusively in agriculture as above defined and the products of agriculture as so defined while owned by the producers" from taxation.
How much revenue is generated from taxes on tangible personal property in the state?
In 2018, revenue from TPP taxes generated $523.9 million. Of that revenue, 65.3% was allocated to schools, 27.2% was allocated to counties, 7.1% was allocated to municipalities, and 0.4% was allocated to municipalities.[3]
Who supported and opposed the amendment?
- See also: Suppport and Opposition
The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Phil Mallow (R). The state House approved the amendment with a vote of 84-16. The state Senate approved the bill with a vote of 29 to five. The amendment was named the Property Tax Modernization Amendment in the legislature.[1]
West Virginia Manufacturer’s Association President Rebecca McPhail said, "The challenge that we have right now, because of the way these taxes are applied to our industry, specifically places us in the top 10 worst states for taxation on manufacturing. ... This is not just limited to manufacturing. This is a broader constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature at some future date to address a number of types of personal property tax, including the taxation that affects our members — but also small business inventory as well as personal vehicles."[4]
Jonathan Adler of the West Virginia Association of Counties said, "I think counties do certainly support jobs [and] job creation. But if there's no mechanism to replace the lost revenues for counties, then we're kind of scratching our heads wondering exactly what that revenue replacement is going to be."[4]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Property Tax Modernization Amendment To amend the State Constitution by providing the Legislature with authority to exempt tangible machinery and equipment personal property directly used in business activity and tangible inventory personal property directly used in business activity and personal property tax on motor vehicles from ad valorem property taxation by general law.[5] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article X, West Virginia Constitution
The measure would have amended section 1 of Article X of the state constitution. The following underlined text would be added and struck-through text would be deleted:[2]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
Text of Section 1: Taxation and Finance
Subject to the exceptions in this section contained, taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the state, and all property, both real and personal, shall be taxed in proportion to its value to be ascertained as directed by law. No one species of property from which a tax may be collected shall be taxed higher than any other species of property of equal value; except that the aggregate of taxes assessed in any one year upon personal property employed exclusively in agriculture, including horticulture and grazing, products of agriculture as above defined, including livestock, while owned by the producer, and money, notes, bonds, bills and accounts receivable, stocks and other similar intangible personal property shall not exceed fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of value thereon and upon all property owned, used and occupied by the owner thereof exclusively for residential purposes and upon farms occupied and cultivated by their owners or bona fide tenants, one dollar; and upon all other property situated outside of municipalities, one dollar and fifty cents; and upon all other property situated within municipalities, two dollars; and the Legislature shall further provide by general law for increasing the maximum rates, authorized to be fixed, by the different levying bodies upon all classes of property, by submitting the question to the voters of the taxing units affected, but no increase shall be effective unless at least sixty percent of the qualified voters shall favor such increase, and such increase shall not continue for a longer period than three years at any one time, and shall never exceed by more than fifty percent the maximum rate herein provided and prescribed by law; and the revenue derived from this source shall be apportioned by the Legislature among the levying units of the state in proportion to the levy laid in said units upon real and other personal property; but property used for educational, literary, scientific, religious or charitable purposes, all cemeteries, public property, tangible machinery and equipment personal property directly used in business activity, tangible inventory personal property directly used in business activity, personal property tax on motor vehicles, the personal property, including livestock, employed exclusively in agriculture as above defined and the products of agriculture as so defined while owned by the producers may by law be exempted from taxation; household goods to the value of two hundred dollars shall be exempted from taxation. The Legislature shall have authority to tax privileges, franchises, and incomes of persons and corporations and to classify and graduate the tax on all incomes according to the amount thereof and to exempt from taxation incomes below a minimum to be fixed from time to time, and such revenues as may be derived from such tax may be appropriated as the Legislature may provide. After the year nineteen hundred thirty-three, the rate of the state tax upon property shall not exceed one cent upon the hundred dollars valuation, except to pay the principal and interest of bonded indebtedness of the state now existing.[5]
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.
The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 22, and the FRE is -13. The word count for the ballot title is 53.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Sen. Eric Tarr (R)
- State Rep. Trenton Barnhart (R)
- State Rep. Wayne Clark (R)
- State Rep. Don Forsht (R)
- State Rep. Josh Holstein (R)
- State Rep. Charles Horst Sr. (R)
- State Rep. Dennis Kimes (R)
- State Rep. Phil Mallow (R)
- State Rep. Ken Reed (R)
- State Rep. Johnnie Wamsley II (R)
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Officials
- Gov. Jim Justice (R)
- Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom
Government Entities
Organizations
- Boards of the West Virginia Association of Counties
- County Commissioners Association of West Virginia
Arguments
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Inventory and Business Tangible Property Taxes
Inventory taxes are levied on the stock of a product kept on hand by a business and are levied regardless if a business is profitable. West Virginia is one of nine states that fully tax inventory. The other eight states are Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Another five states (Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Vermont) partially tax inventory.[6]
As of 2022, the West Virginia Taxation Code defined tangible personal property (TPP) as "corporeal personal property including money." In 2018, revenue from TPP taxes generated $523.9 million. Of that revenue, 65.3% was allocated to schools, 27.2% was allocated to counties, 7.1% was allocated to municipalities, and 0.4% was allocated to municipalities.[7][3]
Related measures
In 2012, the West Virginia State Legislature tried to place a constitutional amendment on the general election ballot that would have authorized the state legislature to exempt tangible personal property from ad valorem taxation. The legislature would have been required to provide sources of revenue to offset revenues lost or reduced by the exemption. It did not make the ballot.[8]
Referred amendments on the ballot
- See also: List of West Virginia ballot measures
- A total of 15 measures appeared on statewide ballots from 1996 through 2020.
- From 1996 through 2020, an average of one measure appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years in West Virginia. The average for odd-numbered years was 0.17.
- The number of measures appearing on even-year statewide ballots from 1996 through 2020 ranged from zero to three.
- From 1996 through 2020, 73.3 percent (11 of 15) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and 26.7 percent (4 of 15) were defeated.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the West Virginia Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the West Virginia State Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates.
This amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 3 (HJR 3) on February 11, 2021. The state House approved HJR 3 with a vote of 84-16 on March 31, 2021. In the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended HJR 3 to include a 1% sales tax option for counties to replace lost revenue. The Senate Finance Committee, however, amended HJR 3 back to the version proposed by the House. On April 10, 2021, the state Senate approved the bill with a vote of 29 to five.[1]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in West Virginia
Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in West Virginia.
| How to cast a vote in West Virginia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Poll timesIn West Virginia, all polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A voter who is in line at the time polls close must still be permitted to vote.[9] Registration requirements
To vote in West Virginia, an individual must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of West Virginia, and at least 18 years of age by the date of the next general election.[10] The registration deadline is 21 days prior to an election. An individual may register to vote by submitting a form by mail to his or her county clerk's office or the Secretary of State's Office. Registration can be completed online, in person at the county clerk's office, the Secretary of State's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, any public assistance office, any agency that serves people with disabilities, any marriage license office, or any military recruiting agency.[10] Automatic registration
West Virginia automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles.[11] Online registration
West Virginia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration
West Virginia does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirementsAn individual must have resided in the state for at least 30 days of residency before they may vote. Verification of citizenshipWest Virginia does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[12] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registrationThe West Virginia Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirementsWest Virginia requires voters to present identification while voting. The identification provided must be issued either by the State of West Virginia, or one of its subsidiaries, or by the United States government.[13][14] Signed into law in 2025, HB 3016 established that a document was valid if it:[14]
State law enumerates the following identifications that an individual may use to vote:[14]
Lastly, state law provided for the following exceptions and alternative methods of verifying a voter's identity:[14]
Voters can obtain a free voter ID card at their county clerk’s office.[15] | |||||||||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 West Virginia State Legislature, "Overview HJR 3," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 West Virginia Legislature, "Text of HJR 3," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 West Virginia Forward, "Resolving tangible personal property tax," accessed June 23, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 West Virginia Public, "During The 2021 Session, West Virginia Lawmakers Teed Up Three Proposed Constitutional Amendments. Here’s What They’d Do," accessed June 23, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Tax Foundation, "Does Your State Tax Business Inventory?" accessed June 23, 2021
- ↑ Tax Foundation, "Evaluating West Virginia Income Tax Repeal Plans," March 30, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 11 (2011)," accessed June 23, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Elections Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Elections Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "West Virginia Code, §3-1-34. Voting procedures generally; identification; assistance to voters; voting records; penalties." accessed May 2, 2023
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 West Virginia Legislature, "House Bill 3016 (2025)," accessed June 27, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Be Registered and Ready" accessed June 29, 2025
 |
State of West Virginia Charleston (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
