Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:4325 Primary Sponsor:J. Bailey Committee Number:30 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Property tax exemption, transfer tax Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Computer Document Number:JIC/5178HC.94 Introduced Date:19940111 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19940111 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:J. Bailey Corning Inabinett Harvin Whipper Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved ____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________ 4325 House 19940111 Introduced, read first time, 30 referred to Committee 4325 House 19931201 Prefiled, referred to 30 CommitteeView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 12-37-224 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR AN EXEMPTION EQUAL TO AN AMOUNT OF THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL REAL PROPERTY SUFFICIENT TO LIMIT ANY PROPERTY TAX INCREASE ON THE PROPERTY IN ONE YEAR TO THE LESSER OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX OR FIVE PERCENT AND PROVIDE A TRANSITION YEAR LIMITATION AND TO IMPOSE A TRANSFER TAX ON PROPERTY RECEIVING THE BENEFIT OF THIS EXEMPTION AND PROVIDE FOR THE RATE, TIME OF PAYMENT, AND METHOD OF COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE TAX.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 37, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-37-224. (A) In addition to the exemptions allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-220B of this article, there is allowed as an exemption an amount of the fair market value of residential and commercial real property and improvements thereon assessed respectively at four and six percent of fair market value or any successor assessment ratio applicable to such property sufficient to provide a limit on annual ad valorem tax increases on such property equal to the lesser of five percent or the increase in the consumer price index in the twelve months ending on March 31 of the applicable tax year. This exemption does not apply to tax increases attributable to improvements or reclassification.
(B) When ownership of property receiving the exemption allowed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is transferred, there is imposed on the transferor a real property transfer tax equal to the difference between the tax due on the property for the last tax year before the transfer and the tax that would have been due for that year without the benefit of the exemption. The transfer tax is due and payable to the county treasurer of the county where the property is located at the time of closing. A penalty equal to five percent of the tax must be added to the tax due for each thirty days or portion of thirty days the tax remains unpaid but the total penalty may not exceed twenty percent. The transfer tax liability is personal to the transferor and may be enforced and collected by the county treasurer in the same manner that state income taxes are enforced and collected, mutatis mutandis. When ownership of a portion of property receiving the exemption is transferred, the transfer tax must be allocated proportionately in the manner that the Department of Revenue and Taxation shall prescribe. Proceeds of the transfer tax are considered property taxes and must be distributed to taxing entities in the same proportion that an equal amount of property tax would have been distributed for the applicable tax year.
(C) The exemption allowed by this section first applies for taxes due for the 1994 property tax year and the real property transfer tax first applies to transactions occurring after 1994. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A) of this section, the exemption amount of fair market value for property tax year 1994 must be adjusted so as to limit property tax increases on a parcel to no more than a ten percent increase over taxes due on the parcel for property tax year 1992 or the increase in the consumer price index in the twenty-four months ending March 31, 1994, whichever is less."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.