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West Virginia Homestead Exemption Increase Amendment (2016)
| Homestead Exemption Increase Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The West Virginia Homestead Exemption Increase Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in West Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have increased the state's property tax homestead exemption from $20,000 to $30,000. Also, the amendment would have provided a formula for calculating homestead exemptions for a household living at 200 percent of the federal poverty line or below. Under the amendment, homeowners below this line would have had an exemption of $30,000 or "fifty percent of the average home sale price for the five years immediately preceding the assessment in the county where the residence is located," whichever was greater.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was:[1]
| “ | Homestead Exemption Increase Amendment[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary was:[1]
| “ | The purpose of this amendment is to increase the homestead exemption from $20,000 to $30,000. If the homeowner’s federal adjusted gross income is equal to or less than two hundred percent of the federal poverty level the exemption shall be the greater of $30,000 or fifty percent of the average sale price of homes in that county during the five preceding years, provided that the exemption may not be greater than fifty percent of the average sale price of homes in the state during those five preceding years.[2] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the West Virginia Constitution
The amendment needed to be approved by a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature in order to appear on a ballot.
The West Virginia Legislature's 2015 session ended on March 15, 2015, without the bill passing both chambers. Legislators had the opportunity to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session, which was projected to begin on January 13, 2016, and run through March 12, 2016.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of West Virginia Charleston (capital) |
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