Monday, June 20, 2011

Governor Haley Signs Point of Sale Bill

One of the last bills to pass the General Assembly this year was the “point of sale” bill (H. 3713). Last month Governor Haley signed the bill into law.

The point of sale legislation is applicable only to non-primary residential properties, which are assessed at a six percent (6 percent) property tax rate. This includes commercial properties, investment properties and second homes. It does not include manufacturing properties assessed at 10.5 percent. It was drafted similar to proposed legislation that was rejected last year.

Under the new law, commercial properties will receive a 25 percent exemption (discount) from the sales value (point of sale) for taxation purposes. The bill also provides for a minimum level of valuation established as the Fair Market Value by the county tax assessor, but does allow for lower valuations if the property sells below assessed value. After the initial setting of the value by the assessor at the point of sale, all properties will continue to be subject to each county’s reassessment program and will be subject to the 15 percent cap on tax increases for each five (5) year reassessment period going forward.

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