Bill 3298

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                       3298
Type of Legislation:               General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                  House
Introduced Date:                   19970128
Primary Sponsor:                   Walker
All Sponsors:                      Walker, Sharpe, Cotty, Wilder,
                                   Vaughn, Sandifer, Cato, Allison,
                                   Bailey, Littlejohn, Cooper, Kelley,
                                   Leach, Rhoad, Stille, Townsend,
                                   Stoddard, Barrett, Trotter, Harrell,
                                   Martin, Lanford, Keegan and
                                   Davenport 
Drafted Document Number:           jic\5279htc.97
Residing Body:                     Senate
Current Committee:                 Finance Committee 06 SF
Subject:                           Property tax assessment,
                                   undeveloped acreage surveyed into
                                   individual residential lots,
                                   Taxation

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________
Senate  19970501  Introduced, read first time,             06 SF
                  referred to Committee
House   19970430  Read third time, sent to Senate
House   19970429  Read second time
House   19970417  Committee report: Favorable              30 HWM
House   19970128  Introduced, read first time,             30 HWM
                  referred to Committee

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

COMMITTEE REPORT

April 17, 1997

H. 3298

Introduced by Reps. Walker, Sharpe, Cotty, Wilder, Vaughn, Sandifer, Cato, Allison, Bailey, Littlejohn, Cooper, Kelley, Leach, Rhoad, Stille, Townsend, Stoddard, Barrett, Trotter, Harrell, Martin, Lanford, Keegan and Davenport

S. Printed 4/17/97--H.

Read the first time January 28, 1997.

To whom was referred a Bill (H. 3298), to amend Section 12-43-224, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the multiple lot discount allowed for purposes of property tax valuation, etc., respectfully

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., for Committee.

This bill would shift approximately $17.3 million annually in local property tax burden from lots currently receiving the multiple lot discount allowed by Section12-43-224 to other classes of taxable property.

This revenue impact is derived from data provided by county assessors responding to our survey. The 10 counties responding account for over 20 percent of all agricultural use property statewide.

Approved By:

Burnet R. Maybank, III

S.C. Department of Revenue

TO AMEND SECTION 12-43-224, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE MULTIPLE LOT DISCOUNT ALLOWED FOR PURPOSES OF PROPERTY TAX VALUATION WHEN UNDEVELOPED ACREAGE IS SURVEYED INTO INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTIAL LOTS, SO AS TO DELETE THE DISCOUNT PROVISION AND PROVIDE THAT THE VALUE OF THESE LOTS AND ANY IMPROVEMENTS IS DEEMED TO BE ITS UNDEVELOPED VALUE UNTIL THE SOONER OF THE DATE THE LOT IS SOLD OR THE RESIDENCE CONSTRUCTED THEREON IS CERTIFIED FOR OCCUPANCY.

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

SECTION 1. Section 12-43-224 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 12-43-224. Notwithstanding the requirement that real property is required by law to be appraised at fair market value for ad valorem tax purposes, when undeveloped acreage is surveyed into subdivision lots and the conditional or final plat is recorded with the appropriate county official, the county assessor shall appraise each lot as an individual property and then discount his gross actual market value estimate of the developer's lot holdings under the following conditions:

1. The discount rate shall include only:

(a) typical interest rate as charged by developers within the county to purchasers of lots when the purchase is financed by the developer or, in the absence of financing by the developer, the typical interest rate charged by local savings & loan institutions for mortgages on new homes.

(b) the effective tax rate for the tax district that the lots are located in.

2. The developer has ten or more unsold lots within the homogeneous area on the December 31 tax control date.

3. The assessor shall determine a reasonable number of years for the developer to sell the platted lots, however the estimate shall not exceed seven years.

Each of these components shall be based on identifiable factors in determining "The Present Worth of Future Benefits" based on the discounting process.

Platted lots shall not come within the provisions of this section unless the owners of such real property or their agents make written application therefore on or before May 1st of the tax year in which the multiple lot ownership discounted value is claimed.

The application for the discounted value shall be made to the assessor of the county in which the real property is located, upon forms provided by the county and approved by the commission and a failure to so apply shall constitute a waiver of the discounted value for that year. market value for property tax purposes of the lots and residences constructed thereon shall continue to be their value as undeveloped acreage until the date the lot is sold or the residence is certified for occupancy, whichever occurs first."

SECTION 2. Upon approval by the Governor, this act is effective for property tax years beginning after 1996.