By Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia House of Delegates passed two industry-friendly tax valuation reform bills Tuesday by wide margins. The bills, regarding natural resources, raised concern among some lawmakers who said state tax projections estimate that they would cost counties, and school boards in them, millions of dollars.
House Bill 2493 passed the chamber on a 64-34 vote. It would exclude coal beds less than 35 inches thick from classification as mineable coal for property tax valuation purposes. It also excludes permitted coal seams from classification as active until coal is depleted under a permit for assessments made from July 1, 2022 and beyond.
The bill also instructs the state Tax Department to value coal properties based on the year preceding an assessment date of July 1, starting in 2022, removing the department’s current three-year average time frame for valuation.
House Bill 2581, which passed the chamber on a 66-34 vote, would change the methodology for valuing producing oil and natural gas wells. It would allow additional expenses that the Tax Department, in a fiscal note, said would lower the appraised value of oil and gas wells and tax collection…
