Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:4089 Primary Sponsor:Sturkie Committee Number:30 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:School Property Tax Relief Sales Tax Act Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Computer Document Number:JIC/5489HC.93 Introduced Date:19930414 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19930414 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Sturkie Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
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4089 House 19930414 Introduced, read first time, 30
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 10 IN CHAPTER 36 OF TITLE 12, RELATING TO THE SALES AND USE TAX, BY ENACTING THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF SALES TAX ACT, SO AS TO INCREASE THE SALES AND USE TAX FROM FIVE TO SIX PERCENT, DISTRIBUTE THE REVENUE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS ON AN AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP BASIS, AND PROVIDE A TAX CREDIT AGAINST THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX; TO AMEND SECTION 12-36-2120, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO DELETE ALL EXEMPTIONS EXCEPT THE EXEMPTION FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED EXEMPTIONS AND TO ADD AN EXEMPTION FOR FOOD; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 12-36-2110, RELATING TO THE SALES TAX CAP ON MOTOR VEHICLES, MOTORCYCLES, BOATS, AIRCRAFT, AND CERTAIN OTHER TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 12-36-1010. This article may be cited as the School Property Tax Relief Sales Tax Act.
Section 12-36-1020. An additional tax equal to one percent is added to the taxes imposed pursuant to Articles 9, 13, and 17 of this chapter. For all purposes of this title, this additional tax is considered a tax levied pursuant to the South Carolina Sales and Use Tax Act. The commission shall prescribe tables establishing the total amount that may be added to the sales price to reflect all tax levied pursuant to this chapter.
Section 12-36-1030. (A) After deducting the amount of refunds made, the revenue from the tax must be credited to a separate fund in the State Treasury entitled the School Property Tax Relief Fund. Earnings on the fund must be credited to the fund. Revenues in the fund must be distributed quarterly to the school districts of the State by means of a formula in which the share of a district is determined by multiplying the total amount available for distribution by a fraction in which the numerator is the district's one hundred thirty-five day average daily membership and the denominator is total statewide one hundred thirty-five day average daily membership.
(B) The State Treasurer may correct misallocations from the School Property Tax Relief Fund by adjusting subsequent distributions.
(C) The Tax Commission and the State Department of Education shall furnish data to the State Treasurer and to school districts for the purpose of calculating distributions and estimating revenues.
Section 12-36-1040. (A) A tax credit is granted against the school tax liability of every ad valorem taxpayer in an amount determined by multiplying the appraised value of the taxpayer's taxable property by a fraction in which the numerator is the total estimated revenue received by the school district from the School Property Tax Relief Fund during the applicable fiscal year of the school district and the denominator is the total of the appraised value of taxable property in the school district as of January first of the applicable tax year.
(B) For motor vehicles subject to the payment of property taxes pursuant to Article 21, Chapter 37 of this title, the credit provided under this section applies against the tax liability for motor vehicle tax years beginning after December of the year in which the credit is calculated."
SECTION 2. Section 12-36-2120 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-36-2120. Exempted from the taxes imposed by this chapter are the gross proceeds of sales, or sales price of:
(1) tangible personal property or receipts of any business which the State is prohibited from taxing by the Constitution or laws of the United States of America or by the Constitution or laws of this State;
(2) tangible personal property sold to the federal government;
(3) textbooks, magazines, and periodicals used as a part of a course of study in primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning, and all books, magazines, and periodicals sold to publicly supported state, county, or regional libraries which are open to the public without charge;
(4) livestock. `Livestock' is defined as domesticated animals customarily raised on South Carolina farms for use primarily as beasts of burden, or food, and certain mammals when raised for their pelts or fur. Animals such as dogs, cats, reptiles, fowls (except baby chicks and poults), and animals of a wild nature, are not considered livestock;
(5) feed used for the production and maintenance of poultry and livestock;
(6) insecticides, chemicals, fertilizers, soil conditioners, seeds, or seedlings, or nursery stock, used solely in the production for sale of farm, dairy, grove, vineyard, or garden products or in the cultivation of poultry or livestock feed;
(7) containers and labels used in:
(a) preparing agricultural, dairy, grove, or garden products for sale; or
(b) preparing turpentine gum, gum spirits of turpentine, and gum resin for sale.
For purposes of this exemption, containers mean boxes, crates, bags, bagging, ties, barrels, and other containers;
(8) newsprint paper, newspapers, and religious publications, including the Holy Bible and the South Carolina Department of Agricultures The Market Bulletin;
(9) coal, or coke or other fuel sold to manufacturers, electric power companies, and transportation companies for:
(a) use or consumption in the production of by-products;
(b) the generation of heat or power used in manufacturing tangible personal property for sale. For purposes of this item, `manufacturer' or `manufacturing' includes the activities of a processor;
(c) the generation of electric power or energy for use in manufacturing tangible personal property for sale; or
(d) the generation of motive power for transportation. For the purposes of this exemption, `manufacturer' or `manufacturing' includes the activities of mining and quarrying;
(10) (a) meals or foodstuffs used in furnishing meals to school children, if the sales or use are within school buildings and are not for profit;
(b) meals or foodstuffs provided to elderly or disabled persons at home by nonprofit organizations that receive only charitable contributions in addition to sale proceeds from the meals;
(11) (a) toll charges for the transmission of voice or messages between telephone exchanges;
(b) charges for telegraph messages; and
(c) carrier access charges and customer access line charges established by the Federal Communications Commission or the South Carolina Public Service Commission;
(12) water sold by public utilities, if rates and charges are of the kind determined by the Public Service Commission, or water sold by nonprofit corporations organized pursuant to Sections 33-35-10 to 33-35-170;
(13) fuel, lubricants, and supplies for use or consumption aboard ships in intercoastal trade or foreign commerce. This exemption does not exempt or exclude from the tax the sale of materials and supplies used in fulfilling a contract for the painting, repair, or reconditioning of ships and other watercraft;
(14) wrapping paper, wrapping twine, paper bags, and containers, used incident to the sale and delivery of tangible personal property;
(15) gasoline or other motor vehicle fuels taxed at the same rate as gasoline, fuels used in farm machinery, farm tractors, and commercial fishing vessels, and clean alternative transportation fuels as defined in regulation by the South Carolina Tax Commission as defined by the State Energy Office. Gasoline used in aircraft is not exempted by this item;
(16) farm machinery and their replacement parts and attachments, used in planting, cultivating or harvesting farm crops, including bulk coolers (farm dairy tanks) used in the production and preservation of milk on dairy farms, and machines used in the production of poultry and poultry products on poultry farms, when such products are sold in the original state of production or preparation for sale. This exemption does not include automobiles or trucks;
(17) machines used in manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, or quarrying tangible personal property for sale. `Machines' include the parts of machines, attachments, and replacements used, or manufactured for use, on or in the operation of the machines and which are necessary to the operation of the machines and are customarily so used. This exemption does not include automobiles or trucks;
(18) fuel used exclusively to cure agricultural products;
(19) electricity used by manufacturers, miners, or quarriers to manufacture, mine, or quarry tangible personal property for sale. For purposes of this item, `manufacturer' or `manufacture' includes the activities of processors;
(20) railroad cars, locomotives, and their parts, monorail cars, and the engines or motors that propel them, and their parts;
(21) vessels and barges of more than fifty tons burden;
(22) materials necessary to assemble missiles to be used by the Armed Forces of the United States;
(23) farm, grove, vineyard, and garden products, if sold in the original state of production or preparation for sale, when sold by the producer or by members of the producers immediate family;
(24) supplies and machinery used by laundries, cleaning, dyeing, or pressing establishments in the direct performance of their primary function, but not sales of supplies and machinery used by coin-operated laundromats;
(25) motor vehicles (excluding trucks) or motorcycles, which are required to be licensed to be used on the highways, sold to a resident of another state, but who is located in South Carolina by reason of orders of the United States Armed Forces. This exemption is allowed only if, within ten days of the sale, the vendor is furnished a statement, from a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces of a higher rank than the purchaser, certifying that the buyer is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty, and a resident of another state;
(26) all supplies, technical equipment, machinery, and electricity sold to radio and television stations, and cable television systems, for use in producing, broadcasting, or distributing programs. For the purpose of this exemption, radio stations, television stations, and cable television systems are deemed to be manufacturers;
(27) all plants and animals sold to any publicly supported zoological park or garden or to any of its nonprofit support corporations;
(28)(2) medicine and prosthetic devices sold by prescription; hypodermic needles, insulin, alcohol swabs, and blood sugar testing strips sold to diabetics under the authorization and direction of a physician; and dental prosthetic devices;
(29) Reserved;
(30) office supplies, or other commodities, and services resold by the Division of General Services of the State Budget and Control Board to departments and agencies of the state government, if the tax was paid on the divisions original purchase;
(31) vacation time sharing lease plans as provided by Chapter 32 of Title 27;
(32) natural and liquefied petroleum gas and electricity used exclusively in the production of poultry, livestock, swine, and milk;
(33) electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, LP gas, coal, or any other combustible heating material or substance used for residential purposes. Individual sales of kerosene of twenty gallons or less by retailers are considered used for residential heating purposes;
(34) thirty-five percent of the gross proceeds of the sale of modular homes as defined in Section 31-17-20;
(35) motion picture film sold or rented to or by theaters;
(36) tangible personal property where the seller, by contract of sale, is obligated to deliver to the buyer, or to an agent or donee of the buyer, at a point outside this State or to deliver it to a carrier or to the mails for transportation to the buyer, or to an agent or donee of the buyer, at a point outside this State;
(37) petroleum asphalt products, commonly used in paving, purchased in this State, which are transported and consumed out of this State;
(38) hearing aids, as defined by Section 40-25-20(5);
(39) concession sales at a festival by an organization devoted exclusively to public or charitable purposes, if:
(a) all the net proceeds are used for those purposes;
(b) the festival is listed as a special event in the calendar of events provided by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism; and
(c) in advance of the festival, its organizers provide the commission, on a form it prescribes, information necessary to insure compliance with this item. For purposes of this item, a `festival' does not include a recognized state or county fair;
(40) containers and chassis, including all parts, components, and attachments, sold to international shipping lines which have a contractual relationship with the South Carolina State Ports Authority and which are used in the import or export of goods to and from this State. The exemption allowed by this item is effective for sales after June 30, 1982;
(41) items sold by organizations exempt under Section 12-37-220 A(3) and (4) and B(5), (6), (7), (8), (12), (16), (19), (22), and (24), if the net proceeds are used exclusively for exempt purposes and no benefit inures to any individual. An organization whose sales are exempted by this item is also exempt from the retail license tax provided in Article 5 of this chapter. The exemption allowed by this item is effective for sales after June 30, 1989;
(42) depreciable assets, used in the operation of a business, pursuant to the sale of the business. This exemption only applies when the entire business is sold by the owner of it, pursuant to a written contract and the purchaser continues operation of the business. The exemption allowed by this item is effective for sales after June 30, 1987.
(43) all supplies, technical equipment, machinery, and electricity sold to motion picture companies for use in filming or producing motion pictures. For the purposes of this item, `motion picture' means any audiovisual work with a series of related images either on film, tape, or other embodiment, where the images shown in succession impart an impression of motion together with accompanying sound, if any, which is produced, adapted, or altered for exploitation as entertainment, advertising, promotional, industrial, or educational media; and a `motion picture company' means a company generally engaged in the business of filming or producing motion pictures;
(44) electricity used to irrigate crops;
(45) gross proceeds from the sale of building materials, supplies, fixtures, and equipment for the construction, repair, or improvement of or that become a part of a self-contained enclosure or structure specifically designed, constructed, and used for the commercial housing of poultry or livestock.
(46) War memorials or monuments honoring units or contingents of the Armed Forces of the United States or of the National Guard, including United States military vessels, which memorials or monuments are affixed to public property;
(3) food which may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food stamps."
SECTION 3. Section 12-36-2110 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 1993.