1985-1986 Bill 2563: Tax refunds to taxpayers, support payments from absent parents

South Carolina General Assembly
106th Session, 1985-1986

Bill 2563

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2563
Ratification Number:       165
Act Number:                113
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                        Tax refunds to taxpayers, support
                           payments from absent parents

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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A113, R165, H2563)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 12-7-2240, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO TAX REFUNDS TO TAXPAYERS BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA TAX COMMISSION AND TO AMEND SECTION 43-5-220, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO OBTAINING SUPPORT PAYMENTS FROM ABSENT PARENTS, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE TAX COMMISSION TO GIVE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATING TO THE IDENTITY AND ADDRESS OF TAXPAYERS ENTITLED TO A STATE INCOME TAX REFUND WHO ALSO OWE PAST-DUE SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS.

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

Tax refunds

SECTION 1. Subsection B. of Section 12-7-2240, as last amended by Act 346 of 1984, is further amended to read:

"B. Upon notification from the Department of Social Services Child Support Enforcement Division that the taxpayer owes past-due support which is at least sixty days in arrears and the amount owed is in excess of twenty-five dollars, the commission shall determine whether a refund in excess of twenty-five dollars is due to the debtor and shall transfer to the Department of Social Services an amount equal to the refund owed not to exceed the amount of past-due support. From this amount, the department shall reimburse the commission for expenses incurred in administering this program. Upon request from the Department of Social Services Child Support Enforcement Division, the commission shall send to the Department of Social Services the home address, corrected social security number, or additional social security numbers, if more than one is used, of any taxpayer whose name has been submitted to the commission by the department under this subsection.

At the time of the transfer of funds, the commission must send written notification to the taxpayer that the transfer has been made. In the case of a joint return, the refund must be apportioned according to the adjusted gross income of each person. The amount so apportioned and due the taxpayer owing the past-due child support must be transferred to the department. The filing of the joint return in this case constitutes a waiver of the right to file an individual return.

As used in this section, the term 'past-due support' means the amount of the delinquency, owed under a court order, for support and maintenance of a child or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living."

Support payments

SECTION 2. Subsection (i) of Section 43-5-220 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(i) The department may submit to the State Tax Commission for collection and setoff any debt for past-due support owed to the department or owed to an individual not otherwise eligible for collection services who has made application to the department. The debt for past-due support must be at least sixty days in arrears and is in excess of twenty-five dollars as provided in Section 12-7-2240. At the time of the submission, the department shall notify the debtor that his state tax refund will be subject to a debt for past-due support. The notice shall set forth the name of the debtor, the amount of the claimed debt, the intention to set off the refund against the debt, the taxpayer's opportunity to give written notice to contest the setoff within thirty days of the date of mailing of the notice, the appropriate office of the department to which the application for a hearing must be sent, and the fact that failure to apply for a hearing in writing within the thirty-day period will be considered a waiver of the opportunity to contest the setoff. If the debtor makes written application to contest the setoff within thirty days of notification, the department shall provide an opportunity for a hearing and is responsible for refunding any monies wrongfully collected. If no application is made, the debtor's refund must be used to set off the amount owed. From the amount transferred from the commission, the department shall reimburse the commission for expenses incurred in administering this program. In the case of an individual not otherwise eligible for collection services, a fee must be imposed by the department to cover all costs.

The department shall request that the commission send to the department notice of the home address, corrected social security number, or additional social security numbers, if more than one is used, of any taxpayer whose name is submitted to the commission under this subsection."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.