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H. 3216
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Witherspoon, Mulvaney, Funderburk, Gullick, Vick and Toole
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20060sd07.doc
Introduced in the House on January 11, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means
Summary: Timber harvesters
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/11/2007 House Introduced and read first time HJ-274
1/11/2007 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-274
1/17/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Mulvaney
1/23/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Funderburk
1/25/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Gullick
2/1/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Vick
2/6/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Toole
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND CHAPTER 6, TITLE 12, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA INCOME TAX ACT INCLUDING INCOME TAX CREDITS, BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-3625 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT SUBJECT TO SPECIFIED REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS A TAXPAYER THAT HARVESTS TIMBER, OR ALLOWS OTHERS TO HARVEST TIMBER, FROM ITS LAND LOCATED IN SOUTH CAROLINA, MAY CLAIM A CREDIT AGAINST ITS STATE INCOME TAXES EQUAL TO FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER ACRE FOR MAINTAINING AN ENHANCED RIPARIAN BUFFER ALONG STREAMS AND RIVERS ADJOINING THE TIMBER HARVEST.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-6-3625. (A) Subject to the requirements and limitations in this section, a taxpayer that harvests timber, or allows others to harvest timber, from its land located in South Carolina, may claim a credit against income taxes in Chapter 6 equal to five hundred dollars per acre for maintaining an enhanced riparian buffer along streams and rivers adjoining the timber harvest.
(B) There are two types of enhanced riparian buffers:
(1) A 'primary enhanced riparian buffer' is a buffer along perennial and intermittent streams and rivers that extends forty feet from the bank of the stream or river. For designated trout streams and scenic rivers the primary enhanced riparian buffer extends eighty feet from the bank.
(2) A 'secondary enhanced riparian buffer' is a buffer that extends out an additional forty feet from a primary enhanced riparian buffer where there is five to twenty percent slope perpendicular to the stream, an additional eighty feet where slope is twenty-one percent to forty percent, or an additional one hundred twenty feet where slope is greater than forty percent. If the slope is less than five percent, there is no secondary enhanced riparian buffer.
(C) Enhanced riparian buffers must meet the following requirements:
(1) The taxpayer must own the land.
(2) The taxpayer must file its application with the South Carolina Forestry Commission no later than December thirty-first of the calendar year in which the qualifying timber harvest is completed. A nonrefundable application fee of two hundred dollars is due with each application for a credit in order to cover South Carolina Forestry Commission costs of site inspection, administration, and monitoring. A discount of one hundred dollars shall be given for applications made in conjunction with a Best Management Practices courtesy exam conducted by the South Carolina Forestry Commission before or during harvesting operations. The South Carolina Forestry Commission may adjust fees to cover its costs of administering the program, including site inspection and monitoring.
(3) No harvesting is allowed within the primary enhanced riparian buffer for fifteen years.
(4) No harvesting is allowed in a secondary enhanced riparian buffer for fifteen years unless a minimum of fifty square feet of overstory basal area per acre is maintained evenly spaced throughout the secondary enhanced riparian buffer.
(5) Exceptions to items (3) and (4) may be granted in writing by the South Carolina Forestry Commission for salvage, insect and disease control, removal of nonnative invasive species, or other rehabilitative purposes, provided that water quality and buffer integrity are not compromised.
(6) All qualifying timber harvests must be at least ten acres in size and retain an average of no more than thirty square feet of basal area per acre in standing trees.
(7) The entire harvest must comply with Best Management Practices as determined by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
(D) The income tax credits are also subject to the conditions and limitations contained in this subsection:
(1) The total amount of credit that a taxpayer may receive under this section for all enhanced riparian buffers for all land, which the taxpayer owns, is ten thousand dollars per year.
(2) The total amount of credit that may be approved for all taxpayers under this section in each calendar year is six million dollars. The amount of credit that is available to each taxpayer shall be determined by the South Carolina Forestry Commission based upon the date of receipt of the application.
(3) Any unused credit may be carried forward for five succeeding years.
(4) If the credit is earned by an 'S' corporation, a partnership, or a limited liability company, the amount of credit that is allowed a shareholder, partner, or member is determined under the provisions of Section 12-6-3310(B).
(5) The credit is claimed on the tax return for the years in which the qualifying timber harvest is completed and in which the application for the credit has been filed as provided in subsection (C)(2). The South Carolina Forestry Commission shall issue the taxpayer a certificate showing the date and the amount of the credit the taxpayer may claim. To receive the credit the taxpayer shall claim it on its income tax return in a manner provided by the Department of Revenue. The department may require a copy of the certification form issued by the South Carolina Forestry Commission be attached to the return or otherwise provided.
(6) If qualified, the taxpayer may claim both the credit allowed by this section and the credit allowed by Section 12-6-3515.
(7)(a) The South Carolina Forestry Commission shall periodically monitor enhanced riparian buffers to ensure program compliance. Monitoring may be done with remote imaging, aerial detection, site visits, and other methods deemed appropriate.
(b) If enhanced riparian buffers are not maintained to program standards in any year, then the tax due under Chapter 6 by the taxpayer for the taxable year in which the South Carolina Forestry Commission determines that the enhanced riparian buffer is no longer in compliance with the program standards must be increased by the amount of any credit claimed in prior years determined by assuming that the credit is earned ratably over the fifteen year period and recapturing pro rata the unearned portion of the credit.
(E) The South Carolina Forestry Commission may issue guidance and may promulgate regulations concerning the definitions and requirements of the income tax credit authorized by this section."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, and applies for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2008.
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