2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 4 - Counties › Chapter 29 - Industrial Development Projects › Section 4-29-67. Industrial development projects requiring a fee in lieu of property taxes; definitions.

(A)(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
(b) "Lease agreement" means an agreement between the county and a sponsor leasing the property at the project from the county to a sponsor.
(c) "Project" means land, buildings, and other improvements on the land including water, sewage treatment and disposal facilities, air pollution control facilities, and all other machinery apparatus, equipment, office facilities, and furnishings which are considered necessary, suitable, or useful by a sponsor. "Project" also may consist of or include aircraft hangered or utilizing an airport in a county so long as the county expressly consents to its inclusion. Aircraft previously subject to taxation in South Carolina qualify pursuant to this provision.
(d) "Qualified nuclear plant facility" means a nuclear electric power generating plant regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and includes all real and personal property incorporated into or associated with the facility located or to be located within this State with a total minimum level of investment of one billion dollars.
(e) "Sponsor" means one or more entities which sign the inducement agreement with the county and also includes a sponsor affiliate unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(f) "Sponsor affiliate" means an entity that joins with, or is an affiliate of, a sponsor and that participates in the investment in, or financing of, a project.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4-29-60, and notwithstanding that the sponsor does not request the county to issue bonds to finance the property, the county and a sponsor may enter into an inducement agreement that provides for a fee in lieu of taxes as provided in this section for certain property, title to which is held by the county and which is leased to a sponsor.
(B) For property to qualify for the fee as provided in subsection (D)(2):
(1) Title to the property must be held by the county. In the case of a project located in an industrial development park as defined in Section 4-1-170, title may be held by more than one county, if each county is a member of the industrial development park. Real property transferred to the county through a lease agreement must include a legal description and plat of the real property. Property titled in the name of a county pursuant to this section is considered privately owned for purposes of Section 58-3-240.
(2) The project must be located in a single county or an industrial development park as defined in Section 4-1-170. A project located on a contiguous tract of land in more than one county, but not in an industrial development park, may qualify for the fee if:
(a) the counties agree on the terms of the fee and the distribution of the fee payment;
(b) the minimum millage rate is provided for in the agreement; and
(c) all the counties are parties to all agreements establishing the terms of the fee.
(3) The minimum level of investment in the project must be at least forty-five million dollars and must be invested within the time period provided in subsection (C). If a county has an average annual unemployment rate of at least twice the state average during the last twenty-four months based on data available on the most recent November first, the minimum level of investment is one million dollars. The department shall designate these reduced investment counties by December thirty-first of each year using data from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the United States Department of Commerce. The designations are effective for a sponsor whose inducement agreement is signed in the calendar year following the county designation. Investments may include amounts expended by a sponsor or sponsor affiliate as a nonresponsible party in a voluntary cleanup contract on the property at the project pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 56, Title 44, the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program, if the Department of Health and Environmental Control certifies completion of the cleanup. If the amounts under the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program equal at least one million dollars, the investment threshold requirement of this section is met.
(4)(a) A sponsor and a sponsor affiliate may qualify for the fee if each sponsor and sponsor affiliate invests the minimum level of investment at the project. If the project consists of a manufacturing, research and development, corporate office, or distribution facility as those terms are defined in Section 12-6-3360(M) and including a qualified nuclear plant facility as defined in subsection (A)(1)(d), each sponsor or sponsor affiliate is not required to invest the minimum investment required by subsection (B)(3) if the total investment at the project exceeds forty-five million dollars.
(b)(i) Investments by sponsor affiliates within the time periods provided in subsection (C)(1) and (2) qualify for the fee regardless of whether or not the sponsor affiliate was part of the inducement agreement, so long as sponsor affiliates are approved specifically by the county and agree to be bound by agreements with the county relating to the fee; except that sponsor affiliates are not bound by agreements, or portions of agreements, to the extent those agreements do not affect the county. The investments pursuant to this subsection must be at the same project. The inducement agreement or the lease agreement may provide for a process for approval of sponsor affiliates.
(ii) The department must be notified in writing of all sponsor affiliates that have investments subject to the fee on or before ninety days after the end of the calendar year during which the project or pertinent phase of the project is placed in service. The department may extend this period upon written request. Failure to meet this notice requirement does not affect adversely the fee, but a penalty of up to ten thousand dollars a month or portion of a month with the total penalty not to exceed one hundred twenty thousand dollars may be assessed by the department for late notification.
(iii) A. Except as provided in subsection (D)(4) if, at any time, a sponsor no longer has the minimum level of investment as provided in subsection (B)(3), that sponsor no longer qualifies for the fee.
B. Except as provided in subsection (Q), if a sponsor qualifies for the fee pursuant to subsection (D)(4), the sponsor must maintain the applicable level of investment, without regard to depreciation, and any applicable job requirements provided in (D)(4). If the sponsor fails to maintain the applicable investment or any job requirements provided in (D)(4), it no longer qualifies for the fee.
C. Except as provided in subsection (Q), if an inducement agreement or a lease agreement provides for an investment above the minimum investment provided in subsection (B)(3), and the sponsor fails to maintain the investment provided for in the agreement, the sponsor no longer qualifies for the fee.
(C)(1) Except as provided in subsection (W)(1), from the end of the property tax year in which the sponsor and the county execute an inducement agreement, the sponsor has five years in which to enter into an initial lease agreement with the county.
(2)(a) From the end of the property tax year in which the sponsor and the county execute the initial lease agreement, the sponsor has five years in which to complete its investment for purposes of qualifying for this section. If the sponsor does not anticipate completing the project within five years, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the five-year period for making the investment for an extension of time to complete the project. If the county agrees to grant the extension, it must be in writing, and a copy must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the extension was granted. The extension may not exceed five years. If a project receives an extension of less than five years, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the extension period for an additional extension of time to complete the project for an aggregate extension of not more than five years. Unless approved as part of the original lease documentation, the county council of the county may approve any extension by resolution, a copy of which must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted.
(b) An extension of the five-year period in which to meet the minimum level of investment is not allowed. If the minimum level of investment is not met within five years, all property covered by the lease agreement or agreements reverts retroactively to the payments required by Section 4-29-60. The difference between the fee actually paid by the sponsor and the payment due pursuant to Section 4-29-60 is subject to interest, as provided in Section 12-54-25(D). To the extent necessary to determine if a sponsor or sponsor affiliate has met its investment requirements, any statute of limitation that might apply pursuant to Section 12-54-85 is suspended for all sponsors and sponsor affiliates and the department or the county may seek to collect any amounts that may be due pursuant to this section.
(c) Unless property qualifies as replacement property pursuant to a contract provision enacted pursuant to subsection (F)(2), property placed in service after the five-year period, or the ten-year period in the case of a project which has received an extension, is not part of the fee agreement pursuant to subsection (D)(2) and is subject to the payments required by Section 4-29-60 if the county has title to the property or ad valorem property taxes, if the sponsor has title to the property.
(d) For purposes of those businesses qualifying under subsection (D)(4), the five-year period referred to in this subsection is eight years. For those sponsors which, after qualifying pursuant to subsection (D)(4), have more than five hundred million dollars in capital invested in this State and employ more than one thousand people in this State, the five-year period referred to in this subsection is ten years, and the ten-year period is fifteen years.
(3) The annual fee provided by subsection (D)(2) is available for no more than thirty years for an applicable piece of property. The sponsor may apply to the county prior to the end of the thirty-year period for an extension of the fee period for up to ten years. The county council of the county may approve an extension by resolution upon a finding of substantial public benefit. A copy of the resolution shall be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted. For projects which are completed and placed in service during more than one year, each year's investment may be subject to the fee in subsection (D)(2) for thirty years or, if extended as provided in this subsection, up to forty years, for an aggregate maximum fee period of up to fifty years. For those sponsors qualifying under subsection (D)(4), the annual fee is available for no more than forty years for an applicable piece of property and for those projects placed in service in more than one year, the annual fee is available for an aggregate fee period of up to fifty-three years or, for those sponsors qualifying pursuant to item (2)(d), fifty-five years.
(4) During the time period allowed to meet the minimum investment level, the investor annually must inform the appropriate county official of the total amount invested.
(D) The inducement agreement must provide for fee payments, to the extent applicable, as follows:
(1)(a) Any property is subject to an annual fee payment as provided in Section 4-29-60 before being placed in service.
(b) Any undeveloped land is subject to an annual fee payment as provided in Section 4-29-60 before being developed and placed in service. The time during which fee payments are made pursuant to Section 4-29-60 is not considered part of the maximum periods provided in subsection (C)(2) and (3), and a lease is not an "initial lease agreement" for purposes of this section until the first day of the calendar year for which a fee payment is due pursuant to subsection (D)(2) in connection with the lease.
(2) After property qualifying pursuant to subsection (B) is placed in service, an annual fee payment, determined in accordance with one of the following, is due:
(a) an annual payment in an amount not less than the property taxes that would be due on the project if it were taxable, but using:
(i) an assessment ratio of at least six percent, or four percent for those projects qualifying pursuant to subsection (D)(4);
(ii) a fixed millage rate as provided in subsection (G); and
(iii) a fair market value estimate determined by the department as follows:
A. for real property, using the original income tax basis for South Carolina income tax purposes without regard to depreciation. If real property is constructed for the fee or is purchased in an arms-length transaction, using the original tax basis, otherwise the property must be reported at its fair market value for ad valorem property tax purposes as determined by appraisal. The fair market value established for the first year of the fee remains the fair market value for the life of the fee. The county and the sponsor or sponsor affiliate may instead provide in the fee agreement or any amendment thereto that any real property subject to the fee shall be reported at its fair market value for ad valorem property taxes as determined by the department's appraisal as if such property were not subject to the fee; provided, the department may not undertake such an appraisal more than once every five years; and
B. for personal property, using the original tax basis for South Carolina income tax purposes, less depreciation allowable for property tax purposes; except that the sponsor is not entitled to any extraordinary obsolescence;
(b) an annual payment based on an alternative arrangement yielding a net present value of the sum of the fees for the life of the agreement not less than the net present value of the fee schedule as calculated pursuant to subsection (D)(2)(a). Net present value calculations performed pursuant to this subsection must use a discount rate equivalent to the yield in effect for new or existing United States Treasury bonds of similar maturity as published during the month in which the inducement agreement is executed. If no yield is available for the month in which the inducement agreement is executed, the last published yield for the appropriate maturity must be used. If there are no bonds of appropriate maturity available, bonds of different maturities may be averaged to obtain the appropriate maturity; or
(c) an annual payment as provided in subsection (D)(2)(a), except that every fifth year the applicable millage rate may increase or decrease in step with the average actual millage rate applicable in the district where the project is located based on the preceding five-year period.
(3) At the conclusion of the payments determined pursuant to items (1) and (2) of this subsection the annual fee payment is equal to the taxes due on the project as if it were taxable. When the property is no longer subject to the fee pursuant to subsection (D)(2), the fee or property taxes must be assessed:
(a) with respect to real property, based on the fair market value as of the latest reassessment date for similar taxable property; and
(b) with respect to personal property, based on the then-depreciated value applicable to the property under the fee, and after that continuing with the South Carolina property tax depreciation schedule.
(4)(a) The assessment ratio may not be lower than four percent:
(i) in the case of a single sponsor investing at least one hundred fifty million dollars and which is creating at least one hundred twenty-five new full-time jobs at the project;
(ii) in the case of a single sponsor investing at least four hundred million dollars in this State;
(iii) in the case of a project that satisfies the requirements of Section 11-41-30(2)(a), and for which the Secretary of Commerce has delivered certification pursuant to Section 11-41-70(2)(a).
For purposes of this item, if a single sponsor enters into a financing arrangement of the type described in subsection (O)(2), the investment in or financing of the property by a developer, lessor, financing entity, or other third party in accordance with this arrangement is considered investment by the sponsor. Investment by a related person to the sponsor, as described in Section 12-10-80(D)(2), is considered investment by the sponsor.
(b) The new full-time jobs requirement of this item does not apply in the case of a business that paid more than fifty percent of all property taxes actually collected in the county for more than the twenty-five years ending on the date of the lease agreement.
(c) In an instance in which the governing body of a county has provided, by contractual agreement, for a change in fee in lieu of taxes arrangements conditioned on a future legislative enactment, a new enactment does not bind the original parties to the agreement unless the change is ratified by the governing body of the county.
(5) Notwithstanding the use of the term "assessment ratio", a sponsor qualifying for the fee may negotiate an inducement agreement with a county using differing assessment ratios for different assessment years or levels of investment covered by the inducement agreement. The lowest assessment ratio allowed is the lowest ratio for which the sponsor may qualify under this section.
(E) Calculations pursuant to subsection (D)(2) must be made on the basis that the property, if taxable, is allowed all applicable property tax exemptions except the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 3(g) of Article X of the Constitution of this State and the exemptions allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-220(B)(32) and (34).
(F) With regard to calculation of the fee provided in subsection (D)(2), the inducement agreement may provide for the disposal of property and the replacement of property subject to the fee as follows:
(1) If a sponsor disposes of property subject to the fee, the fee must be reduced by the amount of the fee applicable to that property. Property is disposed of only when it is scrapped or sold or removed from the project. If it is removed from the project, it becomes subject to ad valorem property taxes to the extent it remains in the State. If the sponsor used any method to compute the fee other than that provided in subsection (D)(2)(a), the fee on the property which was disposed of must be recomputed in accordance with subsection (D)(2)(a) and to the extent the amount that would have been paid pursuant to subsection (D)(2)(a) exceeds the fee actually paid by the sponsor, the sponsor must pay the difference with the next fee payment due after the property is disposed of. If the sponsor used the method provided in subsection (D)(2)(c), the millage rate provided in subsection (D)(2)(c) must be used to calculate the amount which would have been paid pursuant to subsection (D)(2)(a). If there is no provision in the agreement dealing with the disposal of property in accordance with this subsection, the fee remains fixed and no adjustment to the fee is allowed for disposed property.
(2) Property placed in service as a replacement for property that is subject to the fee payment may become part of the fee payment as provided in this item:
(a) Replacement property may have a function that differs from the property it is replacing. Replacement property is considered to replace the oldest real or personal property subject to the fee and disposed of in the same property tax year as the replacement property is placed in service. Replacement property qualifies for fee treatment provided in subsection (D)(2) only up to the original income tax basis of fee property it replaces. More than one piece of replacement property may replace a single piece of fee property. To the extent that the income tax basis of the replacement property exceeds the original income tax basis of the property it replaces, the excess amount is subject to payments as provided in Section 4-29-60. Replacement property is entitled to the fee payment for the period of time remaining on the twenty-year fee period for the property it replaces.
(b) The new replacement property that qualifies for the fee provided in subsection (D)(2) is recorded using its income tax basis, and the fee is calculated using the millage rate and assessment ratio provided on the original fee property. The fee payment for replacement property must be based on subsection (D)(2)(a) or (c) if the investor originally used that method, without regard to present value.
(c) To qualify as replacement property, title to the replacement property must be held by the county.
(d) If there is no provision in the inducement agreement dealing with replacement property, any property placed in service after the time period allowed for investments as provided by subsection (C)(2), is subject to the payments required by Section 4-29-60 if the county has title to the property or ad valorem property taxes, if the sponsor has title to the property.
(G)(1) The county and the sponsor may enter into a millage rate agreement to establish the millage rate for purposes of calculating payments pursuant to subsection (D)(2)(a) and the first five years pursuant to subsection (D)(2)(c). This millage rate agreement may be executed at any time up to and including, but not later than, the date of the initial lease agreement. This millage rate agreement may be a separate agreement or may be made a part of either the inducement agreement or the initial lease agreement.
(2) The millage rate established pursuant to item (1) of this subsection must be no lower than the cumulative property tax millage rate levied by or on behalf of all taxing entities within which the project is to be located on either:
(a) June thirtieth of the year preceding the year in which the millage rate agreement is executed or the initial lease agreement is executed if no millage rate agreement is executed; or
(b) June thirtieth of the year in which the millage rate agreement is executed if a millage rate agreement is not executed the lease agreement is deemed to be the millage rate agreement for purposes of this item.
(H)(1) Upon agreement of the parties, and except as provided in subsection (H)(2), an inducement agreement, a millage rate agreement, or both, may be amended or terminated and replaced with regard to all matters including, but not limited to, the addition or removal of sponsors or sponsor affiliates.
(2) An amendment or a replacement of an inducement agreement or millage rate agreement may not be used to lower the millage rate, discount rate, assessment ratio, or, except as provided in subsections (C)(2) and (C)(4) increase the term of the agreement; except that an existing inducement agreement that has not been implemented by the execution and delivery of a millage rate agreement or a lease agreement may be amended up to the date of execution and delivery of a millage rate agreement or a lease agreement in the discretion of the governing body.
(I) Investment expenditures incurred by a sponsor in connection with the project, or relevant phase of a project, for a project completed and placed in service in more than one year, qualify as expenditures subject to the fee in subsection (D)(2), so long as these expenditures are incurred before the end of the applicable five-year, eight-year, ten-year, or fifteen-year period referenced in subsection (C)(2) or (3). An inducement agreement must be executed within two years after the date the county adopts an inducement resolution; otherwise, only investment expenditures made or incurred by a sponsor after the date of the inducement agreement in connection with a project qualify as expenditures subject to the fee in subsection (D)(2).
(J) Subject to subsection (K), project expenditures incurred within the applicable time period provided in subsection (I) by an entity whose investments are not computed at the level of investment for purposes of subsection (B) or (C) qualify as investment expenditures subject to the fee in subsection (D)(2) if the:
(a) expenditures are part of the original cost of property that is transferred, within the applicable time period provided in subsection (I) to one or more other investors or investor affiliates whose investments are being computed at the level of investment for purposes of subsection (B) or (C);
(b) property would have qualified for the fee in subsection (D)(2) if it had been initially acquired by the sponsor instead of the transferor entity;
(c) the income tax basis of the property immediately before the transfer equal the income tax basis of the property immediately after the transfer; except that, to the extent income tax basis of the property immediately after the transfer unintentionally exceeds the income tax basis of the property immediately before the transfer, the excess is subject to payments pursuant to Section 4-29-60;
(d) the county agrees to an inclusion in the fee of the property described in subsection (J).
(K)(1) Property previously subject to property taxes in South Carolina does not qualify for the fee except as provided in this subsection:
(a) land, excluding improvements on it, on which a new project is located may qualify for the fee even if it has previously been subject to South Carolina property taxes;
(b) property that has been subject previously to South Carolina property taxes, but has never been placed in service in South Carolina, or which was placed in service in South Carolina pursuant to an inducement agreement or other preliminary approval by the county prior to execution of the lease agreement pursuant to subsection (C)(1), may qualify for the fee; and
(c) property placed in service in South Carolina and subject to South Carolina property taxes that is purchased in a transaction other than between any of the entities specified in Section 267(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as defined pursuant to Chapter 6, Title 12 as of the time of the transfer, may qualify for the fee if the sponsor invests at least an additional forty-five million dollars in the project.
(2) Repairs, alterations, or modifications to real or personal property which are not subject to a fee are not eligible for a fee, even if they are capitalized expenditures, except for modifications to existing real property improvements constituting an expansion of the improvements.
(L)(1) For a project not located in an industrial development park as defined in Section 4-1-170, distribution of the fee in lieu of taxes on the project must be made in the same manner and proportion that the millage levied for school and other purposes would be distributed if the property were taxable but without regard to exemptions otherwise available to a project pursuant to Section 12-37-220 for that year.
(2) For a project located in an industrial development park as defined in Section 4-1-170, distribution of the fee in lieu of taxes on the project must be made in the manner provided for by the agreement establishing the industrial development park.
(3) A county or municipality or special purpose district that receives and retains revenues from a payment in lieu of taxes may use a portion of this revenue for the purposes outlined in Section 4-29-68 without the requirement of issuing special source revenue bonds or the requirements of Section 4-29-68(A)(4) by providing a credit against or payment derived from the fee due from the sponsor.
(4) Misallocations of the distribution of the fee in lieu of taxes on the project pursuant to this chapter may be corrected by adjusting later distributions, but these adjustments must be made in the same fiscal year as the misallocations. To the extent distributions are made improperly in prior years, a claim for adjustment must be made within one year of the distribution.
(M) As a directly foreseeable result of negotiating the fee, gross revenue of a school district in which a project is located in any year a fee negotiated pursuant to this section is paid may not be less than gross revenues of the district in the year before the first year for which a fee in lieu of taxes is paid. In negotiating the fee, the parties shall assume that the formulas for the distribution of state aid at the time of the execution of the inducement agreement must remain unchanged for the duration of the lease agreement.
(N) Projects on which a fee in lieu of taxes is paid pursuant to this section are considered taxable property at the level of the negotiated payments for purposes of bonded indebtedness pursuant to Sections 14 and 15 of Article X of the Constitution of this State, and for purposes of computing the index of taxpaying ability pursuant to Section 59-20-20(3). However, for a project located in an industrial development park as defined in Section 4-1-170, projects are considered taxable property in the manner provided in Section 4-1-170 for purposes of bonded indebtedness pursuant to Sections 14 and 15 of Article X of the Constitution of this State, and for purposes of computing the index of taxpaying ability pursuant to Section 59-20-20(3). Provided, however, that the computation of bonded indebtedness limitation is subject to the requirements of Section 4-29-68(E).
(O)(1) An interest in an inducement agreement, millage rate agreement, and lease agreement, and property to which these agreements relate, may be transferred to another entity at any time. Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, an equity interest in a sponsor or sponsor affiliate may be transferred to another entity or person at any time. To the extent an agreement is transferred, the transferee assumes the current basis the sponsor has in the property subject to the fee for purposes of calculating the fee.
(2) A sponsor or county may enter into a lending, financing, security, lease, or similar arrangement, or succession of such arrangements, with a financing entity, concerning all or part of a project including, without limitation, a sale-leaseback arrangement, equipment lease build-to-suit-lease, synthetic lease, Nordic lease, defeased tax benefit, transfer lease, assignment, sublease, or similar arrangement, or succession of such arrangements, with one or more financing entities, concerning all or part of a project, regardless of the identity of the income tax owner of the property which is subject to the fee payment pursuant to subsection (D)(2). Even though income tax basis is changed for income tax purposes, neither the original transfer to the financing entity nor the later transfer from the financing entity back to the original sponsor pursuant to terms in the sale-leaseback agreement, affects the amount of the fee due.
(3) A transfer undertaken with respect to other projects to effect a financing authorized by subsection (O) must meet the following requirements:
(a) The department and the county shall receive written notification, within sixty days after the transfer, of the identity of each transferee and other information required by the department with the appropriate returns. Failure to meet this notice requirement does not affect adversely the fee, but a penalty up to ten thousand dollars a year or portion of a year up to a maximum penalty of fifty thousand dollars may be assessed by the department for late notification.
(b) If the financing entity is the income tax owner of property, either the financing entity is primarily liable for the fee as to that portion of the project to which the transfer relates with the sponsor remaining secondarily liable for the payment of the fee or the sponsor agrees to be primarily liable for the payment of the fee as to that portion of the project to which the transfer relates.
(4) A sponsor may transfer an inducement agreement, millage rate agreement, lease agreement, or the assets subject to the lease agreement, if it obtains the prior approval, or subsequent ratification, of the county with which it entered into the original agreement. The county's prior approval or subsequent ratification may be evidenced by any one of the following, in the absolute and sole discretion of the county providing the approval or ratification: (i) a letter or other writing executed by an authorized county representative as designated in the respective inducement, millage rate, or lease agreement; (ii) a resolution passed by the county council; or (iii) an ordinance passed by the county council following three readings and a public hearing. That approval is not required in connection with transfers to sponsor affiliates or other financing-related transfers.
(P) An inducement agreement, a millage rate agreement, or a lease agreement, or the rights of a sponsor or sponsor affiliate pursuant to that agreement including, without limitation, the availability of the subsection (D)(2) fee, may not be affected adversely if the bonds issued pursuant to that agreement are purchased by one or more of the entities that are or become sponsor or sponsor affiliates.
(Q) Except as provided in subsection (B)(4)(a), if a sponsor fails to make the minimum investment required by subsection (D)(2) or an investment under subsection (D)(4) if applicable, within the time provided in subsection (C)(2), then the sponsor is entitled to the benefits of Chapter 12 of this title if and to the extent allowed pursuant to an applicable agreement between the sponsor and the county, and if the requirements of subsection (B)(4)(a) are satisfied. Otherwise, the fee provided in subsection (D)(2) or (D)(4) is no longer available and the sponsor must make the payments due pursuant to Section 4-29-60 for the remainder of the lease period.
(R) The minimum amount of the initial investment provided in subsection (B)(3) of this section may not be reduced except by a special vote which, for purposes of this section, means an affirmative vote in each branch of the General Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting, but not less than three-fifths of the total membership in each branch.
(S)(1) The sponsor shall file the returns, contracts, and other information that may be required by the department.
(2) Fee payments, and returns showing investments and calculating fee payments, are due at the same time as property tax payments and property tax returns would be due if the property were owned by the sponsor obligated to make the fee payments and file such returns.
(3) Failure to make a timely fee payment and file required returns results in penalties being assessed as if the payment or return were a property tax payment or return.
(4) The department may issue rulings and promulgate regulations necessary or appropriate to carry out the purpose of this section.
(5) The provisions of Chapters 4 and 54, Title 12, applicable to property taxes, apply to this section, and, for purposes of that application, the fee is considered a property tax. Sections 12-54-20, 12-54-80, and 12-54-155 do not apply to this section.
(6) Within thirty days of the date of execution of an inducement or lease agreement, a copy of the agreement must be filed with the department and the county auditor and the county assessor for every county in which the project is located. If the project is located in an industrial development park, the agreements must be filed with the auditors and assessors for all counties participating in the industrial development park.
(7) The department, for good cause, may allow additional time for filing of returns required under this section. The request for an extension may be granted only if the request is filed with the department on or before the date the return is due. However, the extension must not exceed sixty days from the date the return is due. The department shall develop applicable forms and procedures for handling and processing extension requests. An extension may not be granted to a sponsor who has been granted an extension for a previous period and has not fulfilled the requirements of the previous period.
(8) To the extent a form or return is filed with the department, the sponsor must file a copy of the form or return with the county auditor, assessor, and treasurer of the county or counties in which the project is physically located. To the extent requested, the county auditor of the county in which the project is physically located shall make these forms and returns available to any county auditor of a county participating in an industrial development park in which the project is located.
(9) Upon the direction of the governing body of the county, a county official may request and obtain such financial books and records from a sponsor that support the sponsor's fee in lieu of taxes return as may be reasonably necessary to verify the calculations of the sponsor's fee in lieu of taxes payment or the calculations of the sponsor's special source revenue credit.
(T) Except as otherwise expressly provided in subsection (C)(2), a loss of fee benefits pursuant to this section is prospective only from the date of noncompliance and, subject to subsection (Q), only with respect to that portion of the project to which the noncompliance relates; except that the loss of fee benefits may not result in the recovery from the sponsor of fee payments for more than:
(1) three years from the date a return concerning the fee is filed for the time period during which the noncompliance occurs. A showing of bad faith noncompliance increases the three-year period to a ten-year period; or
(2) ten years if a return is not filed for the time period during which the noncompliance occurs.
(U) Section 4-29-65 does not apply to this section. All references in this section to taxes mean South Carolina taxes unless otherwise expressly stated.
(V)(1) Notwithstanding another provision of this section, in the case of a project consisting of a qualified recycling facility, the annual fee is available for no more than thirty years, and for those projects constructed or placed in service during a period of more than one year, the annual fee is available for a maximum of forty years.
(2) Notwithstanding another provision of this section, for a qualified recycling facility, the assessment ratio must be at least three percent.
(3) Any machinery and equipment foundations, port facilities, or railroad track systems used, or to be used, for a qualified recycling facility is considered tangible personal property.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (F) and (I) of this section, the total costs of all investments made for a qualified recycling facility are eligible for fee payments as provided in this section.
(5) For purposes of fees that may be due on undeveloped property for which title has been transferred to the county by or for the owner or operator of a qualified recycling facility, the assessment ratio is three percent.
(6) Notwithstanding subsection (D)(2)(b) of this section, in the case of a qualified recycling facility, net present value calculations performed pursuant to that subsection must use a discount rate equivalent to the yield in effect for new or existing United States Treasury bonds of similar maturity as published on any day selected by the sponsor during the year in which assets are placed into service or in which the inducement agreement is executed.
(7) As used in this subsection, "qualified recycling facility" and "investment" have the meaning provided in Section 12-6-3460.
(W)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (C)(1), in the case of a qualified nuclear plant facility, the sponsor has five years from the end of the calendar year in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants the sponsor a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear power plant to enter into an initial lease agreement with the county but in no event more than fifteen years from the latter of the adoption of an inducement resolution or execution of an inducement agreement by the county.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (C)(2)(d), in the case of a qualified nuclear plant facility, the sponsor has fifteen years from the end of the calendar year in which the initial lease agreement is executed to meet the minimum investment and fifteen years from the end of the calendar year in which the first piece of property is placed into service to complete the project.
(X)(1) All agreements entered into pursuant to this section must include as the first portion of the document a recapitulation of the remaining contents of the document which includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) the legal name of each party to the agreement;
(b) the county and street address of the project and property to be subject to the agreement;
(c) the minimum investment agreed upon;
(d) the length and term of the agreement;
(e) the assessment ratio applicable for each year of the agreement;
(f) the millage rate applicable for each year of the agreement;
(g) a schedule showing the amount of the fee and its calculation for each year of the agreement;
(h) a schedule showing the amount to be distributed annually to each of the affected taxing entities;
(i) a statement answering the following questions:
(i) Is the project to be located in a multi-county park formed pursuant to Chapter 29, Title 4?;
(ii) Is disposal of property subject to the fee allowed?;
(iii) Will special source revenue bonds be issued or credits for infrastructure investment be allowed in connection with this project?;
(iv) Will payment amounts be modified using a net present value calculation?; and
(v) Do replacement property provisions apply?;
(j) any other feature or aspect of the agreement which may affect the calculation of subitems (g) and (h) of this item;
(k) a description of the effect upon the schedules required by subitems (g) and (h) of this item of any feature covered by subitems (i) and (j) not reflected in the schedules for subitems (g) and (h);
(l) which party or parties to the agreement are responsible for updating any information contained in the summary document.
(2) The auditor shall prepare a bill for each installment of the fee according to the schedule set forth in subitem (1)(g) or as modified pursuant to subitem (1)(j), (k), or (l) and that payment must be distributed to the affected taxing entities according to the schedule in subitem (1)(g) or as modified pursuant to subitem (1)(j), (k), or (l).
(3) The county and the sponsor and sponsor affiliates may agree to waive any or all of the items described in this subsection.
HISTORY: 1988 Act No. 487, eff May 2, 1988; 1989 Act No. 173, Section 1, eff June 8, 1989; 1992 Act No. 361, Section 37, eff May 4, 1992; 1993 Act No. 123, Section 3, eff June 14, 1993; 1993 Act No 181 Section 58, eff July 1, 1993; 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, Section 118, eff June 29, 1994; 1995 Act No. 32, Section 2, eff April 6, 1995; 1996 Act No. 462, Sections 7A, eff July 2, 1996, Section B(1), eff January 1, 1996; 1997 Act No. 149, Section 6, eff June 24, 1997; 1997 Act No. 151, Sections 4, 5, eff for tax years beginning after 1996; 1999 Act No. 114, Section 4, eff for property tax years beginning after 1998; 2000 Act No. 279, Section 1, eff May 19, 2000; 2001 Act No. 89, Sections 51E, 58, 59, 61C, 64, and 65B, eff July 20, 2001; 2002 Act No. 280, Section 2, eff May 28, 2002; 2002 Act No. 334, Sections 3, 7C, 7D, 7E, eff June 24, 2002; 2003 Act No. 69, Section 3.ZZ.1, eff June 18, 2003; 2005 Act No. 71, Section 4, eff May 23, 2005; 2005 Act No. 145, Section 44.C, eff June 7, 2005; 2005 Act No. 161, Section 40.C, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 9, 2005); 2006 Act No. 384, Sections 17, 20, eff June 14, 2006; 2006 Act No. 386, Section 58, eff June 14, 2006; 2007 Act No. 116, Section 7.C, eff June 28, 2007; 2008 Act No. 313, Sections 2.G, 2.I.7, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 12, 2008); 2008 Act No. 352, Section 2.G, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 12, 2008); 2010 Act No. 161, Sections 1.A to 1.D, eff May 12, 2010; 2010 Act No. 290, Section 6.A, eff June 23, 2010 and January 1, 2011; 2012 Act No. 187, Section 5, eff June 7, 2012.
Validity
For the validity of (R) of this section, see Pinckney v. Peeler, 862 S.E.2d 906 (S.C. 2021).
Editor's Note
1993 Act No. 123, Sections 5 and 7, provide as follows:
"SECTION 5. Nothing in this act may be construed as amending or repealing any provision of Section 39, Act 361 of 1992."
"SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies prospectively to any project for which an inducement agreement was not entered into before the effective date of this act; provided, however, that projects with respect to which an inducement agreement, millage rate agreement, or both, have been entered into before the effective date of this act are entitled but not required to use the provisions of Section 4-29-67 of the 1976 Code, as amended by this act, and also one or more of the provisions of the following subsections of Section 4-29-67 of the 1976 Code as in existence before the amendments contained in this act: (B); (F)(1)(c); (F)(2); (G); and (I); and provided further that investors having a lease agreement which was entered into before the effective date of this act meeting the eighty-five million dollar minimum level of investment required under Section 4-29-67(C) within five years from the date the lease agreement was signed shall have seven years from the date the lease agreement was signed to complete the investment, unless a longer period is otherwise stipulated in the lease agreement. The last sentence of Section 4-29-67(I) of the 1976 Code, as amended by this act, is not applicable to any project with respect to which an inducement agreement was entered into or an inducement or similar resolution was adopted by the governing body of the county before the effective date of this act; provided, however, that if an inducement agreement has not been entered into before the effective date of this act, such an agreement must be entered into with respect to any such project within one year of the effective date of this act in order for pre-inducement agreement project expenditures to qualify for the fee provided in subsection (D)(2). Any lease which was entered into with a county prior to the effective date of this act, in order to preserve the eligibility of certain property for subsequent inclusion in a fee in lieu of taxes arrangement, and which lease provides for lease payments within two dollars of what the property taxes on the leased property would otherwise have been, shall not be considered a lease agreement of any kind for purposes of beginning the running of any time period provided under Section 4-29-67 of the 1976 Code, including, but not limited to, the five, seven, and twenty-year periods provided therein. For purposes of this SECTION 7, references to inducement or millage rate agreements shall be considered to exclude any amendments or replacements of such agreements."
2003 Act No. 69, Section 3.ZZ.3, provides in part as follows:
"(i) for those projects which have been granted a two-year extension of time to complete the project and that two-year period has not expired, the sponsor may at any time during the two-year extension request an additional three years to complete the project, and (ii) the county and the sponsor may agree to waive the provisions of subsection (W) under any agreement whenever executed."
2010 Act No. 290, Section 6.B, provides:
"The provisions of this section take effect upon approval by the Governor except that the provisions of Section 4-29-67(C)(3) take effect January 1, 2011, provided that a county may amend an existing fee-in-lieu agreement at any time prior to the expiration of the fee to incorporate the amendments to Section 4-29-67(C)(3) as contained in subsection A. Also, except that Section 4-29-67(D) shall take effect in each county in the first property tax year in which a countywide reassessment program is implemented after December 31, 2010."
Effect of Amendment
The 1989 amendment rewrote this section.
The 1992 amendment rewrote this section.
The first 1993 amendment rewrote this section, so as to revise the manner in which and conditions under which fees in lieu of taxes are authorized.
The second 1993 amendment changed "Tax Commission" to "Department of Revenue" throughout.
The 1994 amendment added subsection (Z).
The 1995 amendment added subsection (AA).
The 1996 amendment revised subsections (A)-(U) and reserved (Z).
The first 1997 amendment (by Act No. 149), in subsection (W), added paragraph (6).
The second 1997 amendment (by Act No. 151), by Section 4, in subsection (B)(4)(a), added the last sentence; and, by Section 5, in subsection (D)(4)(a), added item (iv).
The 1999 amendment revised the replacement property provisions in subparagraph (F)(2)(a).
The 2000 amendment added subsection (BB).
The 2001 amendments revised the section, providing for investors and investor affiliates, with guidelines for their qualification for the 4% fee; providing for time periods for executing millage rate agreements and computations relating to cumulative property tax millage and alternative determination of the millage rate; providing for adjustments for misallocations; and making technical changes.
The first 2002 amendment added paragraph (B)(5).
The second 2002 amendment, in item (C)(2)(a), in the second sentence, substituted "five" for "two"; in item (C)(2)(c), in the introductory paragraph, substituted "up to ten" for "seven"; added paragraph (S)(7) and added subsection (W).
The 2003 amendment rewrote this section.
The first 2005 amendment, in subsection (D)(4), in the introductory statement to subparagraph (a) substituted "may not be lower than" for "must be at least"; in subparagraph (a)(iv)A, substituted "project" for "facility"; and added subparagraph (a)(v).
The second and third 2005 amendments added a virtually identical subparagraph (D)(4)(a)(v) to that added by the first 2005 amendment.
The first 2006 amendment, in subparagraph (B)(1), added the fourth sentence relating to property titled in the name of a county; and, in subparagraph (D)(4)(a), in (i) substituted "one hundred fifty" for "two hundred" and "three hundred" for "four hundred" million dollars and "one hundred twenty-five" for "two hundred" new full-time jobs, deleted (iii), redesignated (iv) as (iii), merged the paragraph designated as "A" into it and deleted the paragraph designated as "B"; redesignated (v) as (iv); and made conforming amendments.
The second 2006 amendment added an identical fourth sentence in subparagraph (B)(1) to that added by the first 2006 amendment.
The 2007 amendment, in subparagraph (C)(2)(a), added the fifth and sixth sentences; rewrote paragraph (C)(3) and subparagraph (D)(4)(a); in subparagraph (D)((4)(b), substituted "lease" for "inducement"; in subparagraph (H)(2), added ", or except as provided in Sections 4-29-67(C)(2) and (C)(4)"; and, in paragraph (L)(3) added "or payment derived from" and deleted the second sentence relating to a direct payment of cash to a sponsor.
The first 2008 amendment, in subparagraph (D)(4)(a), added the undesignated paragraph at the end applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2008; and, in subparagraph (A)(1)(c), added the second sentence and, in paragraph (O)(4), added the second sentence relating to evidence of county's prior approval or subsequent ratification applicable for property tax years beginning after 2007.
The second 2008 amendment added an identical undesignated paragraph at the end of subparagraph (D)(4)(a) effective upon approval.
The first 2010 amendment, 2010 Act No. 161, Sections 1.A to 1.D, in subsection (A) added the definition of "qualified nuclear plant facility"; in subitem (B)(4)(a) inserted "and including a qualified nuclear plant facility as defined in Section 12-44-30(16A)" in the second sentence; in subsection (C)(1) inserted the exception; and added subsection (X).
The second 2010 amendment, 2010 Act No. 290, Section 6, rewrote the section.
The 2012 amendment added subsection (S)(9).