MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Finance

By: Senator(s) Bryan

Senate Bill 2732

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-51-103, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE AD VALOREM TAX CREDIT SHALL NOT EXCEED $500.00 FOR EACH ELIGIBLE MOTOR VEHICLE; TO AMEND SECTION 27-51-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN SURPLUS FUNDS IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE AD VALOREM TAX REDUCTION FUND SHALL BE USED TO REIMBURSE LOCAL TAXING DISTRICTS FOR AD VALOREM TAX LOSSES THEY INCUR AS A RESULT OF CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLE AD VALOREM TAX EXEMPTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 27-51-107, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 27-51-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-51-103. (1) From and after January 1, 1995, through June 30, 1995, a taxpayer shall be allowed as a credit towards the tax liability imposed by Chapter 51, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, on the amount of ad valorem taxes due during the taxable year on any private carrier of passengers and light carrier of property owned by him, an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the assessed value of the motor vehicle.

(2) From and after July 1, 1995, a taxpayer shall be allowed as a credit against motor vehicle ad valorem taxes due under Chapter 51, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, on any private carrier of passengers and light carrier of property owned by him, an amount as provided for in subsection (3) of this section.

(3) From and after July 1, 1995, the amount of the credit that a taxpayer shall be allowed against motor vehicle ad valorem taxes due under Chapter 51, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be determined by the State Tax Commission for each fiscal year. The amount of the credit shall be promulgated by the commission on or before May 1 prior to each state fiscal year beginning with the state fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1995. In developing the credit, the commission shall establish credit amounts that provide for an equal percentage of dollar credit amounts for private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property in proportion to their assessed value, based on the projected amount of funds in the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund that will be available for distribution in such state fiscal year; provided, however, that the dollar amount of the credit shall not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each eligible private carrier of passengers or light carrier of property. The commission may calculate the credit in such a manner so as to have surplus funds available in the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund for cash flow needs and monthly shortfalls that might be incurred as a result of unexpected revenue fluctuations; provided, however, that in the calculation of the credit in order to make such surplus funds available, the commission shall attempt to create a balance in the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund that does not exceed at the end of any state fiscal year five percent (5%) of the projected amount of funds that will be available in the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund for distribution during such state fiscal year.

(4) Tax credits provided for by this section may be used against motor vehicle ad valorem taxes due under Chapter 51, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, at the time that a taxpayer pays motor vehicle ad valorem taxes to the county tax collector.

(5) Each receipt for motor vehicle ad valorem taxes shall clearly indicate that the credit provided for by this section is granted as a result of legislative action.

(6) A taxpayer who is delinquent in the payment of motor vehicle ad valorem taxes to the extent that the penalty assessed pursuant to Section 27-51-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, has reached twenty-five percent (25%) of the ad valorem taxes due shall not be eligible to receive the tax credit authorized pursuant to this section.

SECTION 2. Section 27-51-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-51-105. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund, into which shall be deposited the monies specified in Section 27-65-75(10), (11) and (12), and such other monies as the Legislature may provide by appropriation. The monies in the fund shall be used for the purpose of making payments to counties for the reduction in motor vehicle ad valorem tax revenues incurred by local taxing districts in the county as a result of the ad valorem tax credit for private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property that is provided for by Section 27-51-103, and for the purpose of reimbursing local taxing districts as provided for in subsection (3) of this section.

(2) The Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund shall be administered by the State Tax Commission, and monies in the fund shall be expended upon appropriation by the Legislature. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of the state fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

(3) Unexpended amounts in the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund at the end of any fiscal year, with the exception of any surplus funds authorized pursuant to Section 27-51-103(3) and funds projected to be needed for the following month as reimbursement to local taxing districts as provided for in Section 27-51-107, may be used to reimburse local taxing districts for ad valorem tax losses that have resulted during the fiscal year then ending as a result of the exemptions provided for in Section 27-51-41(j), (k) and (l). The amount of such surplus necessary to fund such reimbursement shall be appropriated annually to the commission which shall distribute the appropriate amount. In the event that there is not enough surplus to fund the total amount of such reimbursement, the commission shall distribute such amount to each local taxing district in the proportion that tax loss of such local taxing district bears to the total tax loss of all local taxing districts within the state.

SECTION 3. Section 27-51-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-51-107. (1) On or before February 10, 1995, and the tenth day of each succeeding month thereafter, the State Tax Commission shall make payments from the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105 to the county tax collectors for distribution to the local taxing districts as reimbursement for motor vehicle ad valorem taxes that are lost during the preceding month as a result of the ad valorem tax credit for private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property that is provided for by Section 27-51-103. The amount that each local taxing district will receive for each month under this subsection shall be determined by the State Tax Commission based on documentation provided by the tax collectors under guidelines established by the commission.

(2) On or before the twentieth day of the month that the payments from the commission under subsection (1) of this section are received, the county tax collectors shall remit the appropriate amount of such payments to the local taxing districts for which the county tax collector collects motor vehicle ad valorem taxes. When an ad valorem tax credit that is allowed to a taxpayer is not paid by the commission in the payment for the month in which such credit is allowed, the tax collector shall remit the payment for such credit to the local taxing authority on or before the twentieth day of the month that payment for such credit is received from the commission.

(3) Funds received by local taxing districts from the payments under subsection (1) of this section and under Section 27-51-105 shall be considered to be, and shall be used in the same manner as, the proceeds of motor vehicle ad valorem taxes.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.