Chap. 305.—An ACT to amend the Tax Code of Virginia by adding a new sec-
tion to Chapter 16 thereof, to be numbered Section 229-a, relating to the
franchise or license tax of certain public service corporations beginning busi-
ness in this State; to the franchise or license tax of certain public service cor-
porations acquiring the business or any part thereof of another public service
corporation, and to the franchise or license tax in cases of consolidations or
mergers of public service corporations. [fH B 324]

Approved March 26, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Tax Code of Virginia be amended by adding a new
section to chapter sixteen thereof numbered two hundred and twenty-
nine-a, which new section shall read as follows:

Section 229-a. Franchise and license taxes of public service cor-
porations commencing business or acquiring the business of other public
service corporations; also in cases of consolidations or mergers.—The
franchise or license tax imposed by this chapter on every public service
corporation continuing business after the close of any year shall apply
also to every public service corporation beginning business at or after
the beginning of any year, and the measure of such franchise or license
tax of such public service corporation for the year or for that part of the
year in which it begins business shall be an estimate of the gross receipts
of such public service corporation for the year or for that part of the
year in which it begins business. Such estimate shall be made by the
corporation liable to such franchise or license tax and shall be reported
to the State Corporation Commission within thirty days after beginning
business and the franchise or license tax measured thereby and assessed
by the State Corporation Commission shall be paid into the State treas-
ury within thirty days after such assessment is made or by October first
of the year if such assessment is made more than thirty days prior to
October first.

Whenever any public service corporation shall become liable to a
franchise or license tax for any year measured by its gross receipts for
the year ending December thirty-first preceding, and such corporation
commenced operation in Virginia during such preceding year, then the
franchise or license tax of such corporation for the year following the
year in which it began business, shall be measured by an estimate of such
gross receipts for the year beginning January first of the year following
the year in which it began business. Such estimate of gross receipts shall
be made by the corporation liable to the franchise or license tax and shall
be reported to the State Corporation Commission within the time pre-
scribed by this chapter for reporting gross receipts by other corporations
of the same character.

Every estimate made under the foregoing provisions of this section
shall be subject to review by the State Corporation Commission after the
close of the year for which such estimate is made, and any variance be-
tween the estimate and the actual gross receipts shall be adjusted by the
State Corporation Commission by order of refund or the assessment of
additional franchise or license tax depending upon whether such estimate
was in excess of or less than the actual gross receipts of such corpora-
tion for such year.

Whenever any public service corporation liable to a franchise or 11-
cense tax for any year imposed by this chapter, measured by its gross
receipts for the year ending December thirty-first preceding, shall have
acquired by purchase or otherwise during such preceding year the busi-
ness or any part thereof of another corporation liable to such a franchise
or license tax for such preceding year but not liable for the year follow-
ing such sale or disposition, and such acquiring corporation continues
the operation of such business so acquired, the gross receipts to be re-
ported by the acquiring corporation for the purpose of determining the
amount of its franchise or license tax for the year following the year in
which such business was so acquired shall include in addition to the
gross receipts of the acquiring corporation during the year ending De-
cember thirty-first preceding the gross receipts of the business or part
thereof so acquired for such portion of such preceding year as such
business was not operated by the acquiring corporation; provided, how-
ever, that the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to
any corporation whose franchise or license tax for the year involved is
measured by an estimate of gross receipts for such year, subject to ad-
justment after the close of the year.

Whenever there is a consolidation or merger ‘of public ‘service cor-
porations, liability to the franchise or license tax imposed by this chapter
shall attach to the corporation thus formed, and the gross receipts which
shall be used for measuring the franchise or license tax of the corpora-
tion thus formed shall include the gross receipts of the corporations
which were consolidated or merged.

The term “gross receipts”, as used in this section, means gross re-
ceipts as defined in this chapter for inclusion in the base for measuring
the franchise or license tax of corporations of the same class in each case
as those to which this section applies.

All provisions of this chapter applicable to the franchise or license
tax of any corporation included in this section, including such provisions
relating to the assessment, payment and collection of such franchise or li-
cense tax and the method and time of reporting, except as herein other-
wise provided, shall be applicable to the franchise or license tax of such
corporation for the year or years covered by this section.