H 5089 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 5089 General Bill, By McCraw, Littlejohn and Phillips
Similar(S 1347)
A Bill to enact the Cherokee County School District 1 School Bond-Property Tax
Relief Act.
04/14/94 House Introduced and read first time HJ-12
04/14/94 House Referred to delegation from Cherokee HJ-12
A BILL
TO ENACT THE CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1
SCHOOL BOND-PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the Cherokee County School
District 1 School Bond-Property Tax Relief Act.
SECTION 2. Subject to the requirements of this act, the governing
body of Cherokee County School District 1 may by resolution impose
a one percent sales and use tax within its jurisdiction for a specific
purpose and for a specified period of time to collect funds to be used to
pay debt service on general obligation bonds issued pursuant to Article
1 of Chapter 71, Title 59 of the 1976 Code (School Bond Act).
SECTION 3. (A)(1) The governing body of Cherokee County School
District 1 may vote to impose the tax authorized by this act, subject to
a referendum, by enacting a resolution. The resolution must specify:
(a) the improvements to be financed through the issuance of
general obligation bonds of the school district together with the
imposition of the tax;
(b) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar
quarters, or a combination of them, not to exceed twenty years, for
which the tax may be imposed; and
(c) the maximum principal amount of general obligation bonds
to be issued and repaid with proceeds of the tax.
(2) The findings provided in item (1) may be incorporated within
a resolution of the governing body of Cherokee County School District
1 calling for a referendum upon the question of the issuance of general
obligation bonds pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 71, Title 59 of the
1976 Code, if the proposed tax will be applied to payment of debt
service upon the bonds.
(B) Upon receipt of the resolution, the Cherokee County Election
Commission shall conduct a referendum on the question of imposing the
optional special sales and use tax in the school district. Notice of the
election must be provided in the manner provided by the general election
law and include the question to be voted upon in the referendum. In
addition, if the question of the issuance of general obligation bonds is to
also be voted upon in the referendum, publication of notice of the
referendum must also be given in compliance with Article 1 of Chapter
71, Title 59 of the 1976 Code. Expenses of the referendum must be paid
by the school district.
(C) The question to be voted upon in the referendum shall read
substantially as follows:
`Must a special one percent sales and use tax be imposed in Cherokee
County School District 1 for not more than twenty years in order to raise
funds which will be applied to pay debt service on general obligation
bonds issued to defray the cost of (identify improvements)?
Yes []
No []'
The ballot may, in the discretion of the governing body of the school
district, contain a short explanation of the question to be voted upon in
this referendum.
(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 the particular purpose shall vote `no'.
Upon receipt of the returns of the referendum, the election commission
shall, by resolution, declare the results of it and shall file the resolution
with the Cherokee County Clerk of Court. The resolution shall also be
filed with the South Carolina Department of Revenue and Taxation. The
results of the referendum, as declared by resolution of the election
commission and as filed with the clerk of court, is not open to question
except by a civil action instituted within twenty days of the filing of it.
If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax, then the
tax is imposed as provided in this act; otherwise the tax is not imposed.
A referendum on imposition of the tax authorized in this act may not be
held more than once in a period of twelve consecutive months.
SECTION 4. (A) If the tax is approved in the referendum, the tax
must be imposed beginning upon the first day of the third full month
following the filing of the declaration of results of the referendum with
the Department of Revenue and Taxation.
(B) The tax terminates:
(1) on the final day of the maximum time specified for the
imposition; or
(2) if earlier, but not if later, upon payment of the final maturing
installments of principal of the bonds to which application of the tax is
authorized, or upon payment of the final maturing installments of
principal of general obligation bonds issued to refund the bonds.
(C) When the optional sales and use tax is imposed for more than
one purpose, the governing body of the school district 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.
SECTION 5. (A) The tax levied pursuant to this act 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 act is in addition to all other local
sales and use taxes and applies to the gross proceeds of the sales in the
applicable jurisdiction which are subject to the tax imposed by Chapter
36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code and the enforcement provisions of Chapter
54, Title 12 of the 1976 Code. The gross proceeds of the sale of items
subject to a maximum tax in Chapter 36 of Title 12 of the 1976 Code are
exempt from the tax imposed by this act. The gross proceeds of the sale
of food which may lawfully be purchased with United States Department
of Agriculture food stamps are exempt from the tax imposed by this act.
The tax imposed by this act also applies to tangible personal property
subject to the use tax in Article 13, Chapter 36, of Title 12 of the 1976
Code.
(C) Taxpayers required to remit taxes under Article 13, Chapter 36,
Title 12 of the 1976 Code shall identify the school district 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 school district in
which consumption of the tangible personal property occurs.
(E) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by Section 12-36-920 of
the 1976 Code, who owns or manages rental units in more than one
school district shall separately report in his sales tax return the total
gross proceeds from business done in each school district.
(F) The gross proceeds of sales of tangible personal property
delivered after the imposition date of the tax levied under this act in
Cherokee County School District 1, 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 act, with respect to services that
are regularly billed 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. (A) The revenues of the tax collected in the school
district under this act 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 treasurer who holds the debt service
funds established for payment of principal and interest on the bonds to
which the tax is applicable. 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.
(B) The Cherokee County Treasurer holding taxes collected pursuant
to this act must certify to the auditor of the county on July fifteenth of
each calendar year as to the amount of taxes held by that county
treasurer as of June thirtieth of the calendar year. The Cherokee County
Auditor shall reduce the next levy of ad valorem property taxes required
to pay debt service on bonds to which the tax is applicable by the
amount of tax revenues certified as collected as of June thirtieth by the
county treasurer. Taxes collected as of June thirtieth of a calendar year
in excess of the amounts required to pay debt service due in the eighteen
months following the June thirtieth on bonds to which the tax is
applicable must be applied to reduce the next levy of ad valorem
property taxes required for payment of operational and maintenance
expenses of Cherokee County School District 1.
SECTION 7. The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall furnish
data to the State Treasurer and to the school districts receiving tax
revenues pursuant to this act for the purpose of calculating distributions
and estimating revenues. The information which must be supplied to
Cherokee County School District 1 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 of the 1976 Code. A
person violating this section is subject to the penalties provided in
Section 12-54-240 of the 1976 Code.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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