South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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Bill 656

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


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

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT AMENDED AND ADOPTED

April 26, 2007

S. 656

Introduced by Senators Leatherman, Moore, Leventis, McGill, Cleary, Setzler, Elliott and Land

S. Printed 4/26/07--S.

Read the first time April 5, 2007.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 12-36-910, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE IMPOSITION OF THE STATE SALES AND USE TAX AND THE SPECIAL THREE PERCENT SALES AND USE TAX IMPOSED ON UNPREPARED FOOD, SO AS TO REDUCE THIS SPECIAL RATE ON UNPREPARED FOOD FROM THREE PERCENT TO TWO PERCENT EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2008, TO DELETE AN OBSOLETE PROVISION, AND TO REDUCE THIS TWO PERCENT RATE IN INCREMENTS OF ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENTAGE POINT IF THE FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH FORECAST OF ANNUAL GENERAL FUND GROWTH FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR EQUALS AT LEAST FIVE PERCENT OF THE MOST RECENT ESTIMATE OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR; AND TO AMEND SECTION 12-36-2120, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE A PERMANENT EXEMPTION FOR UNPREPARED FOOD WHICH LAWFULLY MAY BE PURCHASED WITH UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD COUPONS BEGINNING THE JULY FIRST THAT THE PHASE-DOWN OF THE STATE SALES TAX RATE ON UNPREPARED FOOD ATTAINS ZERO.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Section 12-36-910(D) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 388 of 2006, is amended to read:

"(D)(1)    Notwithstanding the rate of the tax imposed pursuant to subsection (A) of this section or the rate of any other sales tax imposed pursuant to this chapter and the rate of any use tax imposed pursuant to this chapter, effective November 1, 2007, the sales and use tax on the gross proceeds of sales or sales price of unprepared food which lawfully may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food coupons is three one.

(2)    There is transferred from the general fund of the State to the EIA Fund in fiscal year 2006-2007 the revenue estimated by the Board of Economic Advisors to equal EIA revenue not received as a result of the two percent sales tax differential provided pursuant to this subsection. Beginning with the February 15, 2008, forecast by the Board of Economic Advisors of annual general fund revenue growth for the upcoming fiscal year, and annually thereafter, if the forecast of that growth equals at least five percent of the most recent estimate by the board of general fund revenues for the current fiscal year, the then applicable state sales and use tax rate imposed on unprepared food which lawfully may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food coupons is reduced, effective the following July first, by one-half of one percentage point. That reduced rate applies until a subsequent reduction takes effect. If the February fifteenth forecast meets the requirement for a rate reduction, the board promptly shall certify this result in writing to the Department of Revenue. On the July first that the rate attains zero, the provisions of this subsection no longer apply.

(3)    Twenty percent of the sales and use tax revenue attributable to the then applicable special rate imposed pursuant to this subsection, as estimated by the Board of Economic Advisors, must be credited to the EIA Fund. The balance of the revenue must be credited to the general fund of the State and used for the purposes provided for pursuant to Section 59-21-1010(A)."

SECTION    2.    Section 12-36-2120 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding a new item at the end appropriately numbered to read:

"( )    effective on the July first that the provisions of Section 12-36-910(D) no longer apply, unprepared food that lawfully may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food coupons. However, the exemption allowed by this item applies only to the state sales and use tax imposed pursuant to this chapter."

SECTION    3.    Except where otherwise stated, this act takes effect July 1, 2007.

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