The April 30th deadline for the calendar year South Carolina taxpayers to file their annual Form PT-300, Property Return, is fast approaching. Taxpayers subject to a fee-in-lieu of tax (FILOT) must file a new schedule with their 2017 property tax year that is designed to help local governments comply with their new financial reporting requirements under Statement No. 77 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB Statement 77). GASB Statement 77 requires governmental entities that enter into "tax abatement agreements" to now disclose information about these ...
South Carolina has some of the highest business property taxes in the Southeast. The state generally taxes land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and furniture and fixtures, but does not tax inventory, pollution control equipment, intellectual property, and other assets.
To reduce the effect of its high business property tax rates, and to make the state a more competitive environment for business, South Carolina offers a property tax incentive and tax savings for those businesses investing at least $2.5 million over a five year period in the state. This incentive is known as the ...
While South Carolina has low income taxes, and comparatively low sales taxes as well, the state makes up for this by having some of the highest business property tax rates in the Southeast. These property taxes are generally levied on the land, buildings and personal property (excluding inventory) of a business in the state.
South Carolina law does authorize its counties, which bill and collect the state's property taxes, to enter into property tax incentive arrangements with businesses, which can reduce property taxes. These property tax incentive arrangements generally require ...
Property taxes are the oldest taxes levied in the United States and the only major tax imposed by all 50 states. Property taxes are the primary source of revenue for local government entities in South Carolina. In South Carolina per capita property tax collections are almost twice as high as income taxes.
The amount of property taxes you pay is determined by the classification of your property, the tax rate set by your local government entity, and the value of your property. The classification schedules are set by law, and range from 4% for owner-occupied residential real estate to 10.5 ...
For property tax purposes, the South Carolina Department of Revenue has the sole responsibility for appraising real and personal property used by specified businesses, including utilities, manufacturers, and transportation businesses (e.g. railways and airlines). The South Carolina Department of Revenue is authorized to use any accepted or recognized valuation method which reflects property’s fair market value, including methods with the unit valuation concept, when appraising real and personal property for property tax purposes.
The unit valuation method is not set ...
In what can only be considered a "game-changer" for South Carolina property owners, the South Carolina Court of Appeals in Taylor v. Aiken County Assessor, ___ S.E.2d ___, 2013 WL 1223185 (S.C. Ct. App., March 27, 2013) has recently ruled that a current owner of property can "look back" and challenge the county assessed value of real estate not owned in the prior year.
For over half a century, tax practitioners in South Carolina have assumed, without much comment, that South Carolina law imposed responsibility to pay current property taxes on the owner of property as of December 31st of ...
On August 15, 2011, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in Clarendon County v. TYKAT, Inc. (Op. 270252011, WL 3568536) that Section 12-37-950 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as amended (the "Code"), subjected a leasehold interest in real estate to property taxation where the property was otherwise exempt from such taxation in the hands of the owner. The court's ruling in TYKAT affirmed the ruling of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court (the "ALC") below finding that TYKAT, Inc. ("TYKAT") was liable to Clarendon County for property taxes on the value of TYKAT's ...
In a case that will have far reaching implications for many estate and financial planners, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the South Carolina Administrative Law Court and concluded that real property owned by a single member limited liability company may qualify for favorable property treatment as a legal residenceCFRE, LLC v. Greenville County Assessor, Opinion No. 27032 (SC Supreme Court filed August 29, 2011).
In order to put this opinion in perspective, a brief review of South Carolina income and property taxation is helpful. Turning first to the income tax, South ...