S 144 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S 0144 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 6, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BY ADDING CHAPTER 12 SO AS TO ENACT THE OPTIONAL SPECIAL
SALES AND USE TAX ACT AND PROVIDE FOR THE USE THE REVENUE.
01/14/97 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-138
01/14/97 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-138
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 6, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, RELATING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BY ADDING
CHAPTER 12 SO AS TO ENACT THE OPTIONAL SPECIAL
SALES AND USE TAX ACT AND PROVIDE FOR THE USE OF
THE REVENUE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 6 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 12
Optional Special Sales and Use Tax Act
Section 6-12-10. This chapter may be cited as the `Optional
Special Sales and Use Tax Act'.
Section 6-12-20. Subject to the requirements of this chapter, the
governing body of a county or municipality may by ordinance
impose a one percent sales and use tax within its jurisdiction for a
specific purpose and for a specific period of time to collect a limited
amount of money.
Section 6-12-30. (A) The governing body of a county or
municipality may vote to impose the tax authorized by this chapter,
subject to a referendum, by enacting an ordinance. The ordinance
must specify:
(1) the purpose for which the proceeds of the tax is to be used,
which may include projects located within or without, or both within
and without, the boundaries of the county or municipality imposing
the tax and which may include:
(a) highways, roads, streets, and bridges;
(b) county and municipal courthouses, administration
buildings, civic centers, hospitals, jails, correctional institutions,
detention facilities, libraries, coliseums, landfills, or any combination
of these projects;
(c) jointly operated projects of the county and a municipality
or any combination of municipalities;
(d) cultural, recreational, or historic facilities, or any
combination of these facilities;
(e) water, sewer, and water and sewer projects;
(f) retirement of existing general obligation debt of the
county or municipality; and
(g) any combination of the projects described in subitems (a)
through (f) of this item;
(2) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar
quarters, or a combination thereof, not to exceed seven years, for
which the tax may be imposed; and
(3) the maximum cost of the project or facilities funded from
proceeds of the tax and the maximum amount of net proceeds to be
raised by the tax.
(B) Upon receipt of the ordinance, the county election commission
or municipal election commission shall conduct a referendum on the
question of imposing the optional special sales and use tax in the
jurisdiction. The referendum must be held on the Tuesday following
the first Monday in November. The commission shall cause the date
and purpose of the referendum to be published once a week for four
consecutive weeks immediately preceding the date of the referendum,
in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction.
(C) A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot
for each purpose and the question must read substantially as follows:
`Must a special one percent sales and use tax be imposed in
(county or municipality) for not more than (time)
to raise the amounts specified for the following purposes:
(1) $ for
Yes []
No []
(2) etc.'
(D) All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of imposing the
tax for a particular purpose shall vote `yes' and all qualified electors
opposed to levying the tax for a particular purpose shall vote `no'. If
a majority of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax for one
or more of the specified purposes, then the tax is imposed as provided
in this chapter; otherwise, the tax is not imposed. A subsequent
referendum on this question must not be held more than once in
twelve months and any referendum must be held on the date specified
in subsection (B). The election commission shall conduct the
referendum under the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis,
and shall certify the result no later than December thirty-first to the
appropriate governing body and to the Department of Revenue and
Taxation. Included in the certification must be the total of the project
costs receiving a favorable vote. Expenses of the referendum must
be paid by the jurisdiction conducting the referendum.
Section 6-12-40. (A) If the tax is approved in the referendum,
the tax is imposed on May first following the date of the referendum.
If the certification is not timely made to the Department of Revenue
and Taxation, the imposition is postponed for twelve months.
(B) The tax terminates on the earlier of:
(1) the final day of the maximum time specified for the
imposition; or
(2) the end of the calendar month during which the Department
of Revenue and Taxation determines that the tax has raised revenues
sufficient to provide the county or municipality net proceeds equal to
or greater than the amount specified as the amount to be raised by the
tax.
(C) When the optional sales and use tax is imposed for more than
one purpose, the governing body of the jurisdiction authorizing the
referendum for the tax shall determine the priority for the expenditure
of the net proceeds of the tax for the purposes stated in the
referendum.
(D) Amounts collected in excess of the required proceeds must first
be applied, if necessary, to complete a project for which the tax was
imposed; otherwise, the excess amounts must be credited to the
general fund of the jurisdiction imposing the tax.
Section 6-12-50. (A) The tax levied pursuant to this chapter must
be administered and collected by the Department of Revenue and
Taxation in the same manner that other sales and use taxes are
collected. The department may prescribe the amounts which may be
added to the sales price because of the tax.
(B) The tax authorized by this chapter is in addition to all other
local sales and use taxes and applies to the gross proceeds of sales in
the applicable jurisdiction which are subject to the tax imposed by
Chapter 36 of Title 12 and the enforcement provisions of Chapter 54
of Title 12. The gross proceeds of the sale of items subject to a
maximum tax in Chapter 36 of Title 12 are exempt from the tax
imposed by this chapter. The gross proceeds of the sale of any food
item which lawfully may be purchased with United States
Department of Agriculture food coupons is exempt from the tax
imposed by this chapter. The tax imposed by this chapter also
applies to tangible personal property subject to the use tax in Article
13, Chapter 36 of Title 12.
(C) Taxpayers required to remit taxes under Article 13, Chapter 36
of Title 12 shall identify the county or municipality, or both, in which
the tangible personal property purchased at retail is stored, used, or
consumed in this State.
(D) Utilities are required to report sales in the county or
municipality, or both, in which consumption of the tangible personal
property occurs.
(E) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by Section 12-36-920,
who owns or manages rental units in more than one county or
municipality, or both, shall report separately in his sales tax return the
total gross proceeds from business done in each county or
municipality.
(F) The gross proceeds of sales of tangible personal property
delivered after the imposition date of the tax levied under this chapter
in a county or municipality, either under the terms of a construction
contract executed before the imposition date, or a written bid
submitted before the imposition date, culminating in a construction
contract entered into before or after the imposition date, are exempt
from the special local sales and use tax provided in this section if a
verified copy of the contract is filed with the Department of Revenue
and Taxation within six months after the imposition of the special
local sales and use tax.
(G) Notwithstanding the imposition date of the special local sales
and use tax authorized pursuant to this chapter, with respect to
services that are billed regularly on a monthly basis, the special local
sales and use tax is imposed beginning on the first day of the billing
period beginning on or after the imposition date.
Section 6-12-60. The revenues of the tax collected in each county
or municipality under this chapter must be remitted to the State
Treasurer and credited to a fund separate and distinct from the
general fund of the State. After deducting the amount of refunds
made and costs to the Department of Revenue and Taxation of
administering the tax, not to exceed one percent of the revenues, the
State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues quarterly to the county
or municipality in which the tax is imposed and these revenues must
be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance. The
State Treasurer may correct misallocation costs or refunds by
adjusting subsequent distributions, but these adjustments must be
made in the same fiscal year as the misallocation.
Section 6-12-70. The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall
furnish data to the State Treasurer and to the counties and
municipalities receiving revenues for the purpose of calculating
distributions and estimating revenues. The information which must
be supplied to counties and municipalities upon request includes, but
is not limited to, gross receipts, net taxable sales, and tax liability by
taxpayers. Information about a specific taxpayer is considered
confidential and is governed by the provisions of Section 12-54-240.
A person violating this section is subject to the penalties provided in
Section 12-54-240.
Section 6-12-80. The Department of Revenue and Taxation may
promulgate regulations necessary to implement this chapter."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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