Court Opinion

ID: 9583752
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:41:45.608774+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:59:26.527385
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing

Per Curiam:

Petition for rehearing was granted for a full hearing to consider the grounds stated in the petition. We adhere to the decision as published.
Section 12-37-930 provides that:
All property shall be valued for taxation at its true value in money which in all cases shall be held to be the price which the property would bring following reasonable exposure to the market, where both the seller and *421the buyer are willing, are not acting under compulsion, and are reasonably well informed as to the uses and purposes for which it is adapted and for which it is capable of being used____
The Tax Commission concedes that a willing buyer considering the purchase of real property subject to a long term lease would consider contract rents under the lease in determining the price at which he would be willing to purchase the fee simple interest. Thus, in valuing the fee simple interest at its true value, it is appropriate to consider both contract rents under an existing lease and current market rents in arriving at a value for taxation. In our opinion, the Tax Board of Review properly considered contract rents in arriving at the assessed value of the subject property.
Despite the Commission’s attempt to portray this as a case involving fundamental questions'of tax law, we view the controversy as directed mainly to the weight of the evidence. Stripped to its essentials, the Commission’s argument is that the Tax Board of Review gave controlling weight to contract rents when it should have given controlling weight to market rents. As long as there is substantial evidence in the record as a whole to support the findings of the Tax Board of Review, it is not the function of this Court to weigh the evidence for the purpose of valuing the property. Section 1-23-380, Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976).
Next the Tax Commission argues that the majority of cases of other states is inconsonant with this court’s opinion. We have read and studied each case cited by the Tax Commission; these cases vary in their exact holdings. Our decision is based upon the statutory law of South Carolina, which differentiates the cited cases from the applicable law of this State.
We adhere to our decision that § 12-37-930 provides that valuation of property for taxation purposes is to be based upon its market value with consideration given “as to the uses and purposes for which it is adapted and for which it is capable of being used.” An existing lease admittedly entered into at arms length and for a fair consideration is an element to be considered in ascertaining market value; in this holding, we adhere to our decision.
*422We observe that our decision simply finds that there is substantial evidence to support the findings of the Tax Review Board. We note that § 12-37-930 was inadvertently incorrectly stated in the decision. The correct version is:
§ 12-37-930. Valuation of property.
All property shall be valued for taxation at its true value in money which in all cases shall be held to be the price which the property would bring following reasonable exposure to the market, where both the seller and the buyer are willing, are not acting under compulsion, and are reasonably well informed as to the uses and purposes for which it is adapted and for which it is capable of being used----
For the reasons stated, we adhere to the decision as published.