CHARLESTON — The House Finance Committee on Wednesday took a first look at a possible amendment to the West Virginia Constitution paving the way for eliminating the business and inventory tax.

The proposal is House Joint Resolution 17. The resolution proposes an amendment to the state Constitution stating that the taxation of tangible inventory, machinery and equipment as personal property used for businesses can only be done by the Legislature.

If the resolution is passed by the House of Delegates and the state Senate, voters would get to decide on whether to approve the amendment during the 2020 general election. If the amendment is approved, it would allow a future legislature to remove the tax, which is written into the state Constitution.

Eliminating the business and inventory tax has long been a goal of state Republican legislators, as well as companies and interest groups such as the West Virginia Business and Industry Council, the West Virginia Manufacturers’ Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors, and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

“This is a first important step to untying the hands of future legislatures,” said Delegate Jim Butler, R-Mason. “I think we need to take this first step in order to come up with a mechanism to remove this burdensome tax that’s keeping jobs out of West Virginia.”

The constitutional amendment is only the first step, and to see it even come before voters, House Joint Resolution 17 would need the support of two-thirds of the members of both chambers in order to pass. In the Senate, it would need 23 senators, and in the House the resolution would need 67 delegates.

Both chambers would need some Democrats to join with Republicans to successfully put the amendment on the 2020 ballot.

Delegate Isaac Sponaugle, D-Pendleton, spoke out against the amendment, saying there is no chance of House Democrats supporting the resolution.

“It’s only half a bite of the apple,” Sponaugle said. “I believe we have a responsibility as a Legislature, if we’re going to do this, to state an entire plan, not half a bite of an apple.”

If the resolution passes both chambers and if voters approve the constitutional amendment in 2020, it would still take further action by the Legislature to phase out the business and inventory tax. County governments, city governments and school systems rely on some of the tax revenue generated by the business and inventory tax. The last time the section in the Constitution dealing with the business and inventory tax was amended was 1932.

According to the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, the revenue from the machinery and equipment tax made up 35 percent of the total of business personal property tax revenue in fiscal year 2016. The tax revenue for inventory was 19 percent. Together they accounted for $209 million in tax revenue in 2016.

A report from the state chamber acknowledges the issues with loss of tax revenue at the county level but offers no specific solutions.

According to the report, “The primary issue for local governments has two parts. First, what will be the source(s) of the additional revenue and, second, how will the additional revenue be distributed in order to hold the local levying bodies harmless? While the first part of the primary issue is challenging, the second part of the issue is even more daunting because some counties have more tangible personal property than other counties. Simply put, distribution of the make-up revenue on a per capita basis cannot achieve the desired result.”

The resolution now heads to the House Judiciary Committee.