South Carolina General Assembly
105th Session, 1983-1984

Bill 3530


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3530
Ratification Number:       391
Act Number:                349
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Relating to the procedure for obtaining
                           ad valorem property tax exemption
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A349, R391, H3530)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 12-3-145, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL REAPPLICATION FOR TAX EXEMPT STATUS FOR PROPERTY OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, AUDUBON SOCIETY, FOR THE DWELLING HOUSE OF VETERANS WHO ARE TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISABLED FROM A SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY, AND THE DWELLING HOUSE OF PARAPLEGICS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 12-7-1150, RELATING TO THE APPORTIONMENT OF INCOME FOR PURPOSES OF THE STATE INCOME TAX, SO AS TO EXCLUDE FROM THE NUMERATOR OF THE PROPERTY RATIO INVENTORIES OF UNMANUFACTURED TOBACCO STORED IN WAREHOUSES IN THIS STATE FOR SHIPMENT TO ANOTHER STATE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Application for property tax exemption

SECTION 1. Subsection B of Section 12-3-145 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 190 of 1983, is further amended to read:

"B. Any tax-exempt property owner or any property owner whose property may qualify for property exemption shall obtain an application for the exemption from the Commission and shall file the application for exemption between January first and the last day of February of each year, containing the information requested by the Commission. The owners of exempt property, as stated in items (7) and (8) of subsection A and item (17) of subsection B of Section 12-37-220 shall file the application on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the close of the accounting period regularly employed by the taxpayer for income tax purposes in accordance with Chapter 7 of Title 12.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, tax-exempt status is granted for one year only and each property owner must reapply annually for tax-exempt status. Libraries, churches, parsonages, and burying grounds requesting tax-exempt status under the provisions of Section 12-37-220 A(3) for any of their real or personal property, the Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, veterans who are one hundred percent totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability requesting tax-exempt status under the provisions of Section 12-37-220B(1) for their dwelling house, and paraplegics requesting tax-exempt status under the provisions of Section 12-37-220B(2) for their dwelling house, must file an initial application within the time stipulated by this subsection enumerating the exempt property but thereafter are not required to file an additional application for the property unless there is a change in the status of the property as reported on the initial application or unless requesting an exemption for property which was not included on the initial application or on a subsequent application."

Provisions effective for tax years 1984 and thereafter

SECTION 2. The provisions of Subsection B of Section 12-3-145 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Section 1 of this act, are effective for property tax years 1984 and thereafter.

Apportion of income for purposes of state income tax

SECTION 3. Subsection (1) of Section 12-7-1150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 12-7-1150. (1) The ratio of the average value of real estate and tangible personal property, as defined in this section, used by the taxpayer in this State during the income year, to the average value of the entire real estate and tangible personal property, as defined in this section, used by the taxpayer everywhere during the income year, which average value of property is determined by averaging the values at the beginning and ending of the income year and must be used unless by reason of material changes during the year, the average does not fairly represent the average of the year, in which event the average must be determined upon a monthly or a daily basis. If the taxpayer does not take or keep records of periodic inventories or if the method and time of taking the inventories does not accurately reflect the true average inventory, the Commission shall determine the average inventory from information as may be available. Inventories must be valued in accordance with the accounting practice of the taxpayer unless in the opinion of the Commission a different method is required in order better to reflect the net income of the taxpayer. In determining the value of property, no deduction may be made for encumbrances on the property. For purposes of this section, inventories of unmanufactured tobacco stored in a warehouse in South Carolina for subsequent shipment to a manufacturer in another state, is not considered as property used in this State.

Any property the income from which is allocated directly and thereby excluded from the net apportionable income, and any property not held or used to produce income which is derived from sources partly within and partly without the State, must be excluded in the computation of the property ratio."

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.