GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2015

S                                                                                                                                                    2

SENATE BILL 159

State and Local Government Committee Substitute Adopted 3/24/15

Short Title:        Transferred Properties in Corrected Revals.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

March 4, 2015

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to require payment of additional taxes by the appropriate owners of record for corrected revaluations.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 3 of S.L. 2013‑362 reads as rewritten:

"SECTION 3.  Interest on taxes paid on parcels with errors that resulted in the parcels having an overstated value shall be calculated at a rate of five percent (5%) per annum. Additional taxes levied on parcels as a result of errors causing the parcels to have an understated value shall be treated as follows:

(1) In instances of parcels that have not been transferred in any tax year for which errors requiring reappraisal pursuant to this act resulted in an underpayment of taxes, such underpaid taxes shall be treated as taxes on discovered property pursuant to G.S. 105‑312, except that the discovery penalties set forth in subsection (h) of G.S. 105‑312 shall not apply.

(2) Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑365.1(b), in instances of parcels that have been transferred in a tax year for which errors requiring reappraisal pursuant to this act resulted in an underpayment of taxes, the taxes for each tax year prior to and in the fiscal year in which the transfer occurred shall be collected by agreement of a payment plan with the owner of record as of January 1 of each tax year for which unpaid taxes exist, not to exceed payment over a period of 60 months. If such underpaid taxes remain unpaid at the end of 60 months, only the remedies available in G.S. 105‑367 and G.S. 105‑368 may be used to collect against the owner of record as of January 1 of each tax year for which unpaid taxes exist. Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑355(a), there shall be no lien on the real property for underpaid taxes that arose in a year in which the property is owned by a person other than the current owner as of January 1 of that year. The current owner shall not be held personally responsible for such underpaid taxes. If the current owner or a previous owner has paid such underpaid taxes, the current owner may assert a valid defense for a refund pursuant to G.S. 105‑381, as a tax imposed through clerical error. Such underpaid taxes shall be treated as taxes on discovered property pursuant to G.S. 105‑312, except that discovery penalties shall not apply."

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.