S 28 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S 0028 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-45-180, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
RELATING TO PENALTIES DUE ON DELINQUENT AD VALOREM TAXES, SO AS TO IMPOSE
INTEREST ON UNPAID AD VALOREM TAXES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 12-51-40, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO TAX EXECUTIONS, SO AS TO ADD INTEREST TO AMOUNTS DUE
WHICH MUST BE PAID TO MAKE THE TAXES CURRENT.
01/14/97 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-94
01/14/97 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-94
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 12-45-180, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PENALTIES DUE ON
DELINQUENT AD VALOREM TAXES, SO AS TO IMPOSE
INTEREST ON UNPAID AD VALOREM TAXES; AND TO
AMEND SECTION 12-51-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
TAX EXECUTIONS, SO AS TO ADD INTEREST TO AMOUNTS
DUE WHICH MUST BE PAID TO MAKE THE TAXES
CURRENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 12-45-180 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"When the taxes and assessments or any portion of the taxes and
assessments charged against any property or person on the duplicate
for the current fiscal year are not paid before the sixteenth day of
January or thirty days after the mailing of tax notices, whichever
occurs later, the county auditor shall add a penalty of three percent on
the county duplicate and the county treasurer shall collect the penalty.
If the taxes, assessments, and penalty are not paid before the second
day of the next February, an additional penalty of seven percent must
be added by the county auditor on the county duplicate and collected
by the county treasurer. If the taxes, assessments, and penalties are
not paid before the seventeenth day of the next March, an additional
penalty of five percent must be added by the county auditor on the
county duplicate and collected by the county treasurer. If the taxes,
assessments, and penalties are not paid before the seventeenth day of
March, the county treasurer shall issue his tax execution to the officer
authorized and directed to collect delinquent taxes, assessments,
penalties, and costs for their collection as provided in Chapter 51 of
this title and they must be collected as required by that chapter. The
United States postmark is the determining date for mailed payments.
If the county treasurer determines by proper evidence that the mailing
of a tax payment was improperly postmarked, and such error results
in the imposition of a penalty provided herein, then such penalty
imposed herein may be waived by the county treasurer. In
addition to penalties, interest is due on the unpaid balance of taxes
due pursuant to this section, calculated as provided in Section
12-54-20."
SECTION 2. Section 12-51-40 of the 1976 code, as last amended
by Act 431 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 12-51-40. After the county treasurer issues his execution
against a defaulting taxpayer in his jurisdiction, as provided in
Section 12-45-180, signed by him or his agent in his official capacity,
directed to the officer authorized to collect delinquent taxes,
assessments, penalties, interest, and costs, requiring him to
levy the execution by distress and sale of so much of the defaulting
taxpayer's estate, real or personal, or both, as may be sufficient to
satisfy the taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and costs,
the officer to which the execution is directed shall:
(a) On April first or as soon thereafter as practicable, mail a
notice of delinquent property taxes, penalties, interest,
assessments, and costs to the owner of record at the best address
available which is either the address shown on the deed conveying
the property to him, the property address, or such other corrected or
forwarding address that the owner of record has filed with the
appropriate tax authority and to a known grantee of the delinquent
taxpayer of the property on which the delinquency exists. The notice
must specify that if the taxes, penalties, assessments,
interest, and costs are not paid, the property must be
advertised and sold to satisfy the delinquency.
(b) If the taxes remain unpaid after thirty days from the date of
mailing of the delinquent notice, or as soon thereafter as practicable,
take exclusive possession of so much of the defaulting taxpayer's
property as is necessary to satisfy the payment of the taxes,
assessments, penalties, interest and costs may be taken. In
the case of real property, exclusive possession is taken by mailing a
notice of delinquent property taxes, assessments, penalties,
interest, and costs to the defaulting taxpayer at the address
shown on the tax receipt or to a more correct address known to the
officer, by `certified mail,' return receipt requested-deliver to
addressee only'. In the case of personal property, exclusive
possession is taken by mailing the notice of delinquent property
taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and costs to the person
at the address shown on the tax receipt or to a more correct address
known to the officer. All delinquent notices shall specify that if the
taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and costs are not paid
before a subsequent sales date, the property must be duly advertised
and sold for delinquent property taxes, assessments, penalties,
interest, and costs. The return receipt of the 'certified mail'
notice is equivalent to 'levying by distress.'
(c) In the event If the 'certified mail' notice has
been returned, take exclusive physical possession of the property
against which the taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and
costs were assessed by posting a notice at one or more conspicuous
places on the premises, in the case of real estate, reading: 'Seized by
person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes of
(name of political subdivision) to be sold for delinquent taxes', the
posting of the notice is equivalent to levying by distress, seizing, and
taking exclusive possession thereof, or by taking exclusive
possession of personalty. In the case of personal property, the person
officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes is not
required to move the personal property from where situated at the
time of seizure and further, the personal property may not be moved
after seized by anyone under penalty of conversion unless delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and costs have been
paid. Mobile homes are considered to be personal property for the
purposes of this section unless the owner gives written notice to the
auditor of the mobile home's annexation to the land on which it is
situated.
(d) The property must be advertised for sale at public auction.
The advertisement must be in a newspaper of general circulation
within the county or municipality, if applicable, and must be entitled
'Delinquent Tax Sale.' It shall must include the
delinquent taxpayer's name and the description of the property, a
reference to the county auditor's map-block-parcel number being
sufficient for a description of realty. The advertising must be
published once a week prior to before the legal sales
date for three consecutive weeks for the sale of real property, and two
consecutive weeks for the sale of personal property. All expense of
the levy, seizure, and sale must be added and collected as additional
costs, and shall include includes, but not be limited
to, the expense of taking possession of real or personal property,
advertising, storage, identifying the boundaries of the property, and
mailing certified notices. When the real property is divisible, the tax
assessor, county treasurer, and county auditor shall ascertain that
portion of the property that is sufficient to realize a sum upon sale
sufficient to satisfy the payment of the taxes, assessments, penalties,
and costs. In such cases, the officer shall partition the property and
furnish a legal description of it."
SECTION 3. Upon approval by the Governor, this act is effective
for taxes due for tax years beginning after 1996.
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