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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.1143 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:20000210 Primary Sponsor:Land All Sponsors:Land, Passailaigue, Ford, Mescher, Washington and Bryan Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\dka\3678mm00.doc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Finance Committee 06 SF Subject:Local transportation facilities, optional sales and use tax; revenues for mass transit systems and greenbelts; Taxation History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 20000210 Introduced, read first time, 06 SF referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LOCAL OPTION REVENUES FOR TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A LOCAL OPTION SALES AND USE TAX IN AN AMOUNT UP TO AND INCLUDING ONE PERCENT, TO ALLOW REVENUE FROM THE TAX TO BE USED ALSO FOR MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND FOR GREENBELTS, AND TO DELETE OUTDATED REFERENCES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 4-37-30(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 93 of 1999, is further amended to read:
"(A) Subject to the requirements of this section, the governing body of a county may impose by ordinance impose a one percent sales and use tax in an amount not to exceed one percent within its jurisdiction for a single project or for multiple projects and for a specific period of time to collect a limited amount of money.
(1) The governing body of a county may vote to impose the tax authorized by this section, subject to a referendum, by enacting an ordinance. The ordinance must specify:
(a) the project or projects and a description of the project or projects for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used, which may include projects located within or without, or both within and without, the boundaries of the county imposing the tax and which may include:
(i) highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit systems, greenbelts, and other transportation-related projects facilities including, but not limited to, drainage facilities relating to the highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other transportation-related projects;
(ii) jointly-operated projects, of the type specified in sub-subitem (i), of the county and South Carolina Department of Transportation; or
(iii) projects, of the type specified in sub-subitem (i), operated by the county or jointly-operated projects of the county and other governmental entities;
(b) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar quarters, or a combination of them, not to exceed twenty-five years or the length of payment for each project whichever is shorter in length, for which the tax may be imposed;
(c) the estimated capital cost of the project or projects to be funded in whole or in part from proceeds of the tax and the principal amount of bonds to be supported by the tax; and
(d) the anticipated year the tax will end.
(2) Upon receipt of the ordinance, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum on the question of imposing the optional special sales and use tax in the jurisdiction. If the ordinance is received prior to January 1, 1998, a referendum for this purpose may be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November; however, if the ordinance is received on January 1, 1998, or thereafter, A referendum for this purpose must be held at the time of the general election. The commission shall publish the date and purpose of the referendum once a week for four consecutive weeks immediately preceding the date of the referendum in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction. A public hearing must be conducted at least fourteen days before the referendum after publication of a notice setting forth the date, time, and location of the public hearing. The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least fourteen days before the date fixed for the public hearing.
(3) A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot for each purpose and the question must read substantially as follows:
'I approve a special one percent sales and use tax in the amount of (fractional amount) of one percent to be imposed in ____ (County) for not more than (time) to fund the following project or projects:
Project (1) for __________ $ __________
Project (2), etc.'
In addition, the referendum shall must contain a question on the authorization of general obligation bonds under the exemption provided in Section 14(6), Article X of the Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, so that revenues derived from the imposition of the optional sales and use tax may be pledged to the repayment of the bonds. The additional question must read substantially as follows:
'I approve the issuance of not exceeding $_____ of general obligation bonds of _____ County, maturing over a period not to exceed ___ years to fund the _____ project or projects.
If the referendum on the question relating to the issuance of general obligation bonds is approved, the county may issue bonds in an amount sufficient to fund the expenses of the project or projects.
(4) All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax for a particular purpose shall vote 'yes' and all qualified electors opposed to levying the tax for a particular purpose shall vote 'no'. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax for one or more of the specified purposes, then the tax is imposed as provided in this section; otherwise, the tax is not imposed. The election commission shall conduct the referendum under pursuant to the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis, and shall certify the result no later than November thirtieth after the date of the referendum to the appropriate governing body and to the Department of Revenue. Included in the certification must be the maximum cost of the project or projects or facilities to be funded in whole or in part from proceeds of the tax, the maximum time specified for the imposition of the tax, and the principal amount of bonds to be supported by the tax receiving a favorable vote. Expenses of the referendum must be paid by the jurisdiction conducting the referendum. If the tax is approved in the referendum, the tax is imposed effective the first day of May following the date of the referendum. If the certification is not timely made timely to the Department of Revenue, the imposition is postponed for twelve months.
(5) The tax terminates on the earlier of:
(a) the final day of the maximum time specified for the imposition; or
(b) the end of the calendar month during which the Department of Revenue determines that the tax has raised revenues sufficient to provide the greater of either the cost of the project or projects as approved in the referendum or the cost to amortize all debts related to the approved projects.
(6) When the optional sales and use tax is imposed, the governing body of the jurisdiction authorizing the referendum for the tax shall include by definition include more than one item as defined in (a)(i) and (a)(ii) to describe the single project or multiple projects for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used.
(7) Amounts collected in excess of the required proceeds must first must be applied, if necessary, to complete each project for which the tax was imposed. Any additional revenue collected above the specified amount must be applied to the reduction of debt principal of the imposing political subdivision on transportation infrastructure debts only.
(8) The tax levied pursuant to this section must be administered and collected by the Department of Revenue in the same manner that other sales and use taxes are collected. The department may prescribe the amounts which may be added to the sales price because of the tax.
(9) The tax authorized by this section is in addition to all other local sales and use taxes and applies to the gross proceeds of sales in the applicable jurisdiction which are subject to the tax imposed by Chapter 36 of Title 12 and the enforcement provisions of Chapter 54 of Title 12. The gross proceeds of the sale of items subject to a maximum tax in Chapter 36 of Title 12 are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The gross proceeds of the sale of food lawfully purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food stamps are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The tax imposed by this section also applies to tangible personal property subject to the use tax in Article 13, Chapter 36 of Title 12.
(10) Taxpayers required to remit taxes under pursuant to Article 13, Chapter 36 of Title 12 must identify the county in which the tangible personal property purchase at retail is stored, used, or consumed in this State.
(11) Utilities are required to report sales in the county in which consumption of the tangible personal property occurs.
(12) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by Section 12-36-920, who owns or manages rental units in more than one county shall separately report separately in his sales tax return the total gross proceeds from business done in each county.
(13) The gross proceeds of sales of tangible personal property delivered after the imposition date of the tax levied under pursuant to this section in a county, either under pursuant to the terms of a construction contract executed before the imposition date, or a written bid submitted before the imposition date, culminating in a construction contract entered into before or after the imposition date, are exempt from the special local sales and use tax provided in this section if a verified copy of the contract is filed with the Department of Revenue within six months after the imposition of the special local sales and use tax.
(14) Notwithstanding the imposition date of the special local sales and use tax authorized pursuant to this section, with respect to services that are billed regularly billed on a monthly basis, the special local sales and use tax is imposed beginning on the first day of the billing period beginning on or after the imposition date.
(15) The revenues of the tax collected in each county under pursuant to this section must be remitted to the State Treasurer and credited to a fund separate and distinct from the general fund of the State. After deducting the amount of refunds made and costs to the Department of Revenue of administering the tax, not to exceed one percent of the revenues, the State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues and all interest earned on the revenues while on deposit with him quarterly to the county in which the tax is imposed and these revenues and interest earnings must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance. The State Treasurer may correct misallocation costs or refunds by adjusting later distributions, but these adjustments must be made in the same fiscal year as the misallocation. However, allocations made as a result of city or county code errors must be corrected prospectively.
(16) The Department of Revenue shall furnish data to the State Treasurer and to the counties receiving revenues for the purpose of calculating distributions and estimating revenues. The information which must be supplied to counties upon request includes, but is not limited to, gross receipts, net taxable sales, and tax liability by taxpayers. Information about a specific taxpayer is considered confidential and is governed by the provisions of Section 12-54-240. A person violating this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 12-54-240.
(17) The Department of Revenue may promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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