Current Status BillNumber: 2307 Ratification Number: 183 Act Number: 103 Introducing Body: House Subject: Refunds to taxpayers, funds transferredView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
(A103, R183, S2307)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 12-7-2240, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO TAX REFUNDS TO TAXPAYERS BY THE STATE TAX COMMISSION, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE TAX COMMISSION TO TRANSFER TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO A REFUND OWED NOT TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF ANY PAST DUE SUPPORT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 43-5-220, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO OBTAINING SUPPORT PAYMENTS FROM ABSENT PARENTS, AMOUNT, AND PROCEEDINGS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR COORDINATION BETWEEN THE TAX COMMISSION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES FOR COLLECTION OF CERTAIN STATE TAX REFUNDS DUE AND THEIR SETOFF AS TO PAST DUE SUPPORT PAYMENTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Funds transferred
SECTION 1 . Section 12-7-2240 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 423 of 1980, is further amended to read:
"Section 12-7-2240. A. If the commission discovers from the examination of the return or otherwise that the income tax, penalty, or interest paid by any taxpayer is in excess of the amount legally due, the commission may issue to the taxpayer its voucher to the Comptroller General for the refund of such illegally collected income tax, penalty, or interest together with the interest provided for in Section 12-7-2310. Upon receipt of such voucher, properly executed and endorsed, the Comptroller General shall issue his warrant to the State Treasurer for the payment to the taxpayer of such refund, out of any income tax funds in his possession or out of any such funds that may come into his possession.
The commission must keep in its files a duplicate of each such voucher and also a statement which must set forth the reasons why such refund was ordered.
This section is in addition to any remedies for the abatement or refund of taxes that may otherwise be provided by law.
No refund may be allowed or ordered in an amount less than one dollar. Upon receipt of notification from the appropriate authorities which have authorized educational loans under Chapters 111, 113, or 115 of Title 59 of default on an educational loan, the commission must determine whether a refund is due to any person who has defaulted on such loan and the entire refund must be applied to the balance of the loan, or if the refund exceeds the loan balance, the commission shall apply part of the refund to the loan balance and issue the balance of the refund to the taxpayer.
B. Upon notification from the Department of Social Services Child Support Enforcement Division that the taxpayer owes past-due support which is at least sixty days in arrears and the amount owed is in excess of twenty-five dollars, the commission shall determine whether a refund in excess of twenty-five dollars is due to the debtor and shall transfer to the Department of Social Services an amount equal to the refund owed not to exceed the amount of past-due support. From this amount, the Department of Social Services may reimburse the commission for expenses incurred in administering this program.
At the time of the transfer of funds, the commission must send written notification to the taxpayer that the transfer has been made. In the case of a joint return, the notice must state the name of the taxpayer named in the return, if any, against whom no debt is claimed, the fact that a debt is not claimed against such taxpayer, the fact that such taxpayer is entitled to receive a refund if it is due him regardless of the debt asserted against his spouse, and that in order to obtain a refund due him such taxpayer must apply, in writing, for a hearing with the Department of Social Services office named in the notice within thirty days of the date of the mailing of the notice.
As used in this section, the term 'past-due support' means the amount of the delinquency, determined under a court order, for support and maintenance of a child or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living."
Debt may be submitted to Tax Commission
SECTION 2. Section 43-5-220 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 549 of 1978 and last amended by Act 460 of 1982, is further amended by adding a new subsection appropriately numbered to read:
"( ) The department may submit to the State Tax Commission for collection and setoff any debt for past-due support owed to the department which is at least sixty days in arrears and is in excess of twenty-five dollars as provided in Section 12-7-2240. At the time of the submission, the department must notify the debtor that his state tax refund will be subject to a debt for past due support owed to the department. The notice must set forth the name of the debtor, the amount of the claimed debt, the intention to set off the refund against the debt, the taxpayer's opportunity to give written notice to contest the setoff within thirty days of the date of mailing of the notice, the appropriate office of the Department of Social Services to which the application for a hearing must be sent, and the fact that failure to apply for such a hearing in writing within the thirty-day period will be deemed a waiver of the opportunity to contest the setoff. If the debtor makes written application to contest the setoff within thirty days of notification, the department shall provide an opportunity for a hearing. If no application is made, the debtor's refund shall be used to set off the amount owed. From the amount transferred from the commission, the department may reimburse the commission for expenses incurred in administering this program."
Time effective
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 10th day of June, 1983.