S*397 Session 106 (1985-1986)
S*0397(Rat #0254, Act #0166 of 1985) General Bill, By J.M. Waddell, Leatherman,
I.E. Lourie and N.A. Theodore
Similar(H 2685)
A Bill to amend Section 12-45-70, as amended, and Sections 12-45-180,
12-51-40, 12-51-50, 12-51-60, 12-51-70, 12-51-80, 12-51-90, 12-51-100,
12-51-110, 12-51-120, 12-51-130, 12-51-150, 12-51-160, 12-51-170, Code of Laws
of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the collection of property taxes, so as
to provide an exclusive procedure for the collection of delinquent taxes,
assessments, including increasing penalties, and costs, and for the distress
and sale of property to satisfy tax liens; and to repeal Article 5 of Chapter
49 of Title 12 and Sections 12-51-10, 12-51-20, and 12-51-30, which provide
alternate methods for the collection of delinquent taxes and distress and sale
of property to satisfy tax liens.
03/26/85 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-1005
03/26/85 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-1006
04/04/85 Senate Committee report: Favorable Finance SJ-1329
04/09/85 Senate Read second time SJ-1407
04/09/85 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-1407
04/10/85 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-1447
04/11/85 House Introduced and read first time HJ-2330
04/11/85 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-2331
06/04/85 House Recalled from Committee on Ways and Means HJ-3834
06/04/85 House Read second time HJ-3879
06/05/85 House Read third time and enrolled HJ-3936
06/18/85 Ratified R 254
06/20/85 Signed By Governor
06/20/85 Effective date 01/01/86
06/20/85 Act No. 166
06/20/85 See Act for exceptions to effective date
07/10/85 Copies available
(A166, R254, S397)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 12-45-70, AS AMENDED, AND SECTIONS 12-45-180, 12-51-40,
12-51-50, 12-51-60, 12-51-70, 12-51-80, 12-51-90, 12-51-100, 12-51-110,
12-51-120, 12-51-130, 12-51-150, 12-51-160, 12-51-170, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE COLLECTION OF PROPERTY TAXES, SO AS TO PROVIDE
AN EXCLUSIVE PROCEDURE FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES, ASSESSMENTS,
INCLUDING INCREASING PENALTIES, AND COSTS, AND FOR THE DISTRESS AND SALE OF
PROPERTY TO SATISFY TAX LIENS; AND TO REPEAL ARTICLE 5 OF CHAPTER 49 OF TITLE 12
AND SECTIONS 12-51-10, 12-51-20, AND 12-51-30, WHICH PROVIDE ALTERNATE METHODS
FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES AND DISTRESS AND SALE OF PROPERTY TO
SATISFY TAX LIENS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Legislative findings
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that the procedure used to collect
property taxes varies among counties. Different due dates, different penalties
and other variances exist that should be made uniform. The intent and purpose
of this act is to provide a procedure to be used exclusively for the collection
of property taxes by counties. The procedure does not apply to the collection
of taxes on motor vehicles.
Taxes due and payable
SECTION 2. Section 12-45-70, as last amended by Act 23 of 1983, is further
amended to read:
"Section 12-45-70. All taxes are due and payable between the thirtieth day
of September and the fifteenth day of January after their assessment in each
year. The several county treasurers under the direction and supervision of the
Comptroller General shall collect the taxes in the manner prescribed by law and
give receipts therefor to the persons paying them. In the receipts and tax
notices the real estate paid on must be briefly described including tax map
number and an identifiable description and the value and a description of the
personal property paid on must be stated, together with the time the taxes are
paid, the amount paid, and the township where the property is located.
The treasurer, tax collector, or other official charged with the collection of
ad valorem property taxes in each county may delegate the collection of the
property taxes to banks or banking institutions, if each institution assigns,
hypothecates, or pledges to the county, as security for the collection, federal
funds or federal, state, or municipal securities in an amount adequate to prevent
any loss to the county from any cause. Each institution shall remit the taxes
collected daily to the county official charged with the collections. The receipt
given to the taxpayer, in addition to the information required in this section
and by Section 12-37-2650, shall contain the name and office of the treasurer or
tax collector of the county and shall also show the name of the banking
institution to which payment was made.
The county official charged with the collection of taxes shall send a list of
the institutions collecting the taxes to the South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation. Each institution shall certify to the
Department that the taxes have been paid, and the Department may accept
certification in lieu of the tax receipt given to the taxpayer if that
certification contains the information required in Section 12-37-2650."
When taxes and assessments not paid
SECTION 3. Section 12-45-180 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section
12-45-180. When the taxes and assessments or any portion thereof 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; and 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; and 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; and if 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."
Execution against defaulting taxpayer
SECTION 4. Section 12-51-40 of the 1976 Code is 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, 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, 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, assessments, and costs, to the person at
the address shown on the tax receipt or at a more correct address if it is known.
The notice shall specify that if the taxes, penalties, assessments, and costs are
not paid, the property must be duly 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, 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, 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, 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, and costs are not paid on or before a subsequent
sales date, the property must be duly advertised and sold for delinquent property
taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs. The return receipt of the 'Certified
Mail' notice is equivalent to 'levying by distress'. (c) In the event the
'Certified Mail' notice has been returned, take exclusive physical possession of
the property against which the taxes, assessments, penalties, 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, 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 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
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, 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."
Advertised property must be sold
SECTION 5. Section 12-51-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section
12-51-50. The property duly advertised must be sold by the person officially
charged with the collection of delinquent taxes at public auction at the
courthouse on a legal sales date during regular hours for legal tender payable
in full on the date of the sale. In case the defaulting taxpayer has more than
one item advertised to be sold, as soon as sufficient funds have been accrued to
cover all of the defaulting taxpayer's delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties,
and costs, no further items may be sold."
Successful bidder at delinquent tax sale
SECTION 6. Section 12-51-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section
12-51-60. The successful bidder at the delinquent tax sale shall pay legal
tender to the person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes
in the full amount of the bid on the day of the sale. Upon payment, the person
officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes shall furnish the
purchaser a receipt for the purchase money and attach a copy of the receipt to
the execution with the endorsement of his actions which must be retained by him.
Expenses of the sale must be paid first and the balance of all delinquent tax
sale monies collected must be turned over to the treasurer. All other monies
received, including any excess due the defaulting taxpayer after payment of
delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, must be retained, paid out,
and accounted for by the delinquent tax collector."
Failure to remit
SECTION 7. Section 12-51-70 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-70. In case the successful bidder fails to remit in legal
tender within the time specified, the person officially charged with the
collection of delinquent taxes shall cancel that bid and duly readvertise the
same property for sale, in the same manner, on a subsequent delinquent tax sale
date. The defaulting bidder is liable for no more than three hundred dollars
damages upon default, which may be collected by suit by the person officially
charged with the collection of delinquent taxes in the name of the taxing
authority."
Settlement of tax sale monies
SECTION 8. Section 12-51-80 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section
12-51-80. The treasurer shall make full settlement of tax sale monies, within
thirty days after the sale, to the respective political subdivisions for which
the taxes were levied. Proceeds of the sales in excess thereof must be retained
by the treasurer as otherwise provided by law."
Redemption of items of real estate
SECTION 9. Section 12-51-90 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section
12-51-90. The defaulting taxpayer, any grantee from the owner, or any mortgage
or judgment creditor may within twelve months from the date of the delinquent tax
sale redeem each item of real estate by paying to the person officially charged
with the collection of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs,
together with eight percent interest on the whole amount of the delinquent tax
sale bid. If prior to the expiration of the redemption period, the purchaser
assigns his interest in any real property purchased at a delinquent tax sale, the
grantee from the successful bidder shall furnish the person officially charged
with the collection of delinquent taxes a conveyance, witnessed, and notarized.
The person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes shall
replace the successful bidder's name and address with the grantee's name and
address in the delinquent tax sale book."
Cancellation of sale
SECTION 10. Section 12-51-100 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-100. Upon the real estate being redeemed, the person
officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes shall cancel the sale
in the tax sale book and note thereon the amount paid, by whom and when. The
successful purchaser, at the delinquent tax sale, shall promptly be notified by
mail to return the tax sale receipt to the person officially charged with the
collection of delinquent taxes in order to be expeditiously refunded the purchase
price plus the eight percent interest provided in Section 12-51-90."
No redemption period for personal property
SECTION 11. Section 12-51-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-110. For personal property, there is no redemption period
subsequent to the time that the property is struck off to the successful
purchaser at the delinquent tax sale. Upon payment by the successful purchaser
and delivery of the duplicate warrant (i.e. tax receipt) with description and
notation by the person officially charged with the collection of delinquent
taxes, he shall deliver to the successful purchaser the following form properly
executed which is his bill of sale and right of possession:
'Sold to _________ at Delinquent Tax Sale on________ ,
who is the successful purchaser of personal property sold for
delinquent taxes.
______________________
(Officer Charged with Tax Collection).'"
Notice
SECTION 12. Section 12-51-120 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-120. Neither more than forty-five days nor less than twenty
days prior to the end of the redemption period for real estate sold for taxes,
the person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes shall mail
a notice by 'Certified Mail, return receipt requested--deliver to addressee only'
to the owner of record immediately preceding the end of the redemption period at
the best address of the owner available to the person officially charged with the
collection of delinquent taxes that the real property described on the notice has
been sold for taxes and if not redeemed by paying taxes, assessments, penalties,
costs and eight percent interest on the bid price in the total amount of________
dollars on or before_______________
(twelve months from date of sale)
(date) ___________ ,
a tax title will be delivered to the successful purchaser at the tax sale. Under
this chapter, the return of the certified mail 'undelivered' is not grounds for
a tax title to be withheld or be found defective and ordered set aside or
canceled of record."
Tax title
SECTION 13. Section 12-51-130 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-130. Upon failure of the defaulting taxpayer, any grantee
from the owner, or any mortgage or judgment creditor, to redeem realty within the
time period allowed for redemption, the person officially charged with the
collection of delinquent taxes shall within thirty days or as soon thereafter as
possible make a tax title to the purchaser or the purchaser's assignee. Delivery
of the tax title to the clerk of court or register of mesne conveyances (RMC) is
considered 'putting the purchaser (or assignee) in possession.' The tax title
shall include, among other things, the name of the defaulting taxpayer, the date
of the execution, the date the realty was posted and by whom, and the dates each
certified notice was mailed to the party or parties of interest, to whom mailed
and whether or not received by the addressee. The successful purchaser (or
assignee) is responsible in the amount of fifteen dollars for the cost of the tax
title plus any documentary stamps necessary to be affixed and recording fees.
The successful purchaser (or assignee) shall pay the amounts to the person
officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes before delivery of the
tax title to the clerk of court or RMC and upon payment the person officially
charged with the collection of delinquent taxes is responsible for promptly
transmitting the tax title to the clerk of court or RMC for recording and
remitting the recording fee and documentary stamps cost. In case the tax sale
of an item produced an overage in cash above the full amount due in taxes,
assessments, penalties, and costs, the overage shall belong to the defaulting
taxpayer to be claimed or assigned according to law. If neither claimed nor
assigned within five years of date of public auction tax sale, the overage shall
escheat to the general fund of the governing body. Prior to the escheat date
unclaimed overages must be kept in a separate account and must be invested so as
not to be idle and the governing body of the political subdivision is entitled
to the earnings for keeping the overage. On escheat date the overage must be
transferred to the general funds of the governing body."
Official may void tax sales
SECTION 14. Section 12-51-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-150. In the case that the official in charge of the tax sale
discovers before a tax title has passed, the failure of any action required to
be properly performed, the official may void the tax sale and refund the amount
paid to the successful bidder. If the full amount of the taxes, assessments,
penalties, and costs have not been paid, the property must be brought to tax sale
as soon as practicable."
Evidence of good title
SECTION 15. Section 12-51-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-160. In all cases of tax sale the deed of conveyance,
whether executed to a private person, a corporation, or a forfeited land
commission, must be held and taken as prima facie evidence of a good title in the
holder, that all proceedings have been regular and that all legal requirements
have been complied with. No action for the recovery of land sold under the
provisions of this chapter or for the recovery of the possession may be
maintained unless brought within two years from the date of sale."
Contract for collection of taxes
SECTION 16. Section 12-51-170 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-51-170. A county and municipality may contract for the
collection of municipal taxes by the county. When by contract a tax due a
municipality is to be collected by the county, the provisions of this chapter are
exercisable by the county official charged with the collection of the delinquent
taxes. He may employ, appoint, or designate others to perform or carry out the
provisions of the chapter."
Repeal
SECTION 17. Article 5 of Chapter 49 of Title 12 and Sections 12-51-10, 12-51-20,
and 12-51-30 are repealed.
Time effective
SECTION 18. This act is effective as of January first of the year next following
its approval by the Governor and must be the procedure to collect all existing
and future delinquent taxes. Any county that is not able to adopt the provisions
of this act by the following year may be granted an additional year to comply,
if approved by the Comptroller General, upon a request for an extension of time
made jointly by the auditor, treasurer, and tax collector of that county. |