This legislation makes changes related to property in a Forest Land Protection Covenant (FLPA), the Department of Revenue Performance Review Boards and the interest owed on taxes due after an appeal is settled.

This bill is a comprehensive revision of all taxation of communication services. Among the plethora of changes, the bill provides for: a sales tax exemption for electricity in an Internet data center, including eligible property used at such center; applicability of sales tax to prepaid wireless service and prepaid wireless calling service; a sales tax sourcing rules applicable to communications services; a 5% tax on direct broadcast satellite; a 2& state tax on communications services other than direct broadcast satellite services; a 3% local tax on communications services other than direct broadcast satellite service; a 2% local tax on telecommunications services; and a 1% tax on telecommunications services (apparently for education purposes). In addition, the bill eliminates numerous taxation and fee provisions from TiTles 36 and 46.

This bill makes substantial revisions to state and local title ad valorem tax. These revisions include:

• Establishes the trade-in value of a used vehicle at the department of revenue book value to prevent inflating trade-ins to reduce TAVT;
• Defines the taxable value of a kit car;
• Clarifies when a tax commissioner may deviate from the defined taxable value;
• Provides for a new trade-in credit for leased vehicles;
• Requires the Department of Revenue to promulgate a standardized bill of sale;
• Requires used vehicle dealers to file the title work and TAVT on behalf of their customer;
• Specifies a county administrative fee of 1% on TAVT collected for cities and the school system;
• Increases the penalty for failing to title and register a vehicle from a misdemeanor to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature;
• Authorizes the transfer of a vehicle through a divorce decree or court order to be treated as a family transfer;
• Clarifies that a motor vehicle dealer can apply for a refund on behalf of a purchaser and must pay the refund to the purchaser within 10 days of receipt;
• Extends the expiration date of a temporary tag to 45 days and authorizes a 30 day extension when a title is delayed due to the failure of a security interest or line holder to timely release the security interest or lien;
• Clarifies electronic title registrations must be filed with the county instead of the Department of Revenue

This bill makes several changes to the ad valorem tax laws.

• Requires forestland protection grants for 2008 to be based upon the final value once an appeal is settled;
• Before an appeal can be filed in Superior Court, the legislation authorizes the payment of the temporary tax bill as an alternative to payment of the amount of taxes that were paid in the year a final tax bill was determined;
• Reinstates appeal thresholds that cannot be exceeded in order to get digest approval;
• Gives the Commissioner the authority to reject a tax digest if evidence exists that the county has substantially failed to comply with the ad valorem tax laws or the Department's rules and regulations;
• Authorizes owners of nonhomestead property with a value of $2 million or more to pay a portion of the temporary tax bill to an escrow account held by the tax commissioner until the appeal is settled;
• Consolidates the provisions that define the amount of interest due once an appeal is settled into a single subsection;
• Changes the eligibility to request a refund of paid taxes or license fees from a case where it has been determined that the tax or fee was illegally erroneously collected to an allegation that the tax or fee was illegally or erroneously collected;
• Redefines the authorized time frame for submitting a refund request to the governing authority and filing suit in court for a refund;

This legislation makes it illegal to use an unmanned aircraft to take pictures of private property or individuals.  For more details on this bill click here.