South Carolina General Assembly
119th Session, 2011-2012

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Bill 522

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COMMITTEE REPORT

February 23, 2011

S. 522

Introduced by Senators Leatherman, O'Dell and Setzler

S. Printed 2/23/11--S.

Read the first time February 9, 2011.

            

THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

To whom was referred a Bill (S. 522) to amend Section 12-6-40, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the application of the Internal Revenue Code to State Income, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:

HUGH K. LEATHERMAN, SR. for Committee.

            

STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT

REVENUE IMPACT 1/

This bill would decrease general fund income tax revenue by $5,288,658 in FY 2010-11 and increase revenue by $6,312,069 in FY 2011-12.

Explanation

This bill updates the conformity of the South Carolina income tax statutes to the Internal Revenue Code as amended through December 31, 2010. Federal law changes were implemented in five separate tax bills enacted at the federal level in 2010. Specific federal tax modifications with significant South Carolina revenue impact include an increase in the maximum amount a taxpayer may expense under Section 179 to $500,000 and increases the phase-out threshold amount to $2,000,000 for tax years 2010 and 2011. The maximum deduction for Section 179 properties was $250,000 with a phase-out threshold of $800,000 in tax years 2008 and 2009. We expect this added incentive to expense properties in the year of purchase rather than depreciate them over many years will reduce general fund income tax revenue by $6,109,541 in FY 2010-11 and $1,897,818 in FY 2011-12. An increase in the amount small businesses may deduct in start-up expenses to $10,000 from the prior $5,000 in tax year 2010 is expected to reduce South Carolina income tax revenue by $828,278 in FY 2010-11 and increase revenue by $9,548 in FY 2011-12 due to fewer deductions in that tax year. Another federal change will allow retirees to rollover qualified distributions from 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans to Roth designated accounts. These rollovers will be taxable at conversion, but tax free when the retirement savings are used in future years. We anticipate that this change will increase income tax revenue by $614,210 in FY 2010-11 and $1,437,687 in FY 2011-12. Health care reform legislation mandates that expenditures for over-the-counter medicines are no longer reimbursable from health savings accounts, Archer medical spending accounts, and health flexible spending arrangements. We anticipate that this change will increase income tax revenue by $1,087,098 in FY 2010-11 and $1,630,647 in FY 2011-12. The final significant revenue impact from the federal changes in 2010 is the reduction in Section 179 expensing maximum amounts to $125,000 from $500,000 and decreasing the phase-out threshold amount to $500,000 from $2,000,000 for tax year 2012. We expect that this additional modification to Section 179 expensing will increase general fund income tax revenue by $5,049,969 in FY 2011-12. Based on our analysis of these changes, we estimate that the net revenue impact of updating IRS conformity would decrease general fund income tax revenue by $5,288,658 in FY 2010-11 and increase revenue by $6,312,069 in FY 2011-12. The Board of Economic Advisors has not accounted for these projected revenue declines or increases in its forecasts of FY 2010-11 or FY 2011-12 general fund revenues. A table summarizing the South Carolina revenue impact from all the recent federal tax changes is below.

2010 Federal Acts Affecting South Carolina Tax Revenue

Line #

        Effective    FY 2010-11    FY 2011-12

1    Small Business Jobs Act of 2010

2    A. ProvidingAccess to Capital

3    1. Increase in exclusion for gain

from certain small business stock

acquired at original issue and held

for at least 5 years to 100%. The

revenue gain in FY 2011 is from

estimated taxes paid on gains that

exceed the greater of 10 times the

taxpayers' basis or $10 million.

(sunset 12/31/10)    DOE    5,435    0

4    4. Reduction in recognition period

from 7 years to 5 for built-in gains

tax on the sale of appreciated

assets sold after conversion from

a C corporation to S corporation.

(sunset 12/31/11)    tyba     -62,759    -12,968

12/31/10

5    B. Encouraging Investment

6    1. Expand definition of eligible

section 179 property to include

certain real property and increase

maximum amount and phase-out

thresholds to $500,000 and

$2,000,000 respectively from

$250,000 maximum deduction

and $800,000 phase-out threshold

that existed in tax years 2008

and 2009.    tyba     -6,109,541    -1,897,818

12/31/09 &

before

1/1/12

7    C. Promoting Entrepreneurship           

8    1. Increase in amount allowed

as a deduction for start-up

expenditures from $5,000 to

$10,000 and increase the deduction

phase-out threshold from $50,000

to $60,000.    tyba     -828,278    9,548

2/31/09

9    D. Promoting Small Business

Fairness            

10    3. Remove cellular telephones

and similar telecommunications

equipment from listed property

which excludes the fair market

value of personal use of a cell

phone provided to an employee

from gross income.    tyba     -40,444    -34,866

12/31/09

11    Total of Small Business Relief         -7,035,586    -1,936,104

13    II. Revenue Provisions

14    B. Promoting Retirement

Preparation

15    1.Allow participants in

governmental 457 plans to

contribute deferred amounts

beginning in 2011 to designated

Roth accounts.    tyba     32,613    46,202

12/31/10

16    2.Allow rollovers of qualified

distributions from 401(k), 403(b)

and 457(b) plans to Roth designated

accounts .    DOE     614,210    1,437,687

17    3.Permit partial annuitization

of a nonqualified annuity contract.

The annual benefits received as

an annuity payment will become

taxable as income.    tyba     13,589    54,355

12/31/10

18    Total Revenue Provisions        660,412    1,538,244

19               

20    Total of Small Business Act        -6,375,174    -397,860

21               

22        Effective     FY 2010-11    FY 2011-12

23    Education/Jobs/Medicaid

Assistance Act of 2010           

24    1. Special rule with respect to

certain redemptions by foreign

subsidiaries. The new law requires

the subsidiary's earnings to remain

subject to U.S. tax when repatriated

to the foreign parent as a dividend.    DOE    26,596    26,596

25               

26    Total of Education/Jobs

/Medicaid Assistance Act        26,596    26,596

27               

28               

29        Effective     FY 2010-11    FY 2011-12

30    Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act and

Health Care and Education

Reconciliation Acts of 2010           

31    Revenue Provisions           

32    1. Conform the definition of

medical expenses for health

savings accounts, Archer MSAs,

health flexible spending

arrangements, and health

reimbursement arrangements to

the definition of the itemized

deduction for medical expenses

Therefore, over-the-counter

medicines are not reimbursable

from these accounts unless

prescribed by a physician.    tyba     1,087,098    1,630,647

12/31/10

33    2. Limit health flexible

spending arrangements in

cafeteria plans to $2,500;

indexed to CPI-U

after 2013 [1] [5]     tyba 12/31/1 -     -

34    4. Raise 7.5% AGI floor on

medical expenses deduction to

10%; AGI floor for individuals

age 65 and older (and their

spouses) remains at 7.5%

through 2016     tyba 12/31/12 -     -

35    5. $500,000 deduction

limitation on taxable year

remuneration to officers,

employees, directors,           

and service providers of

covered health insurance

provide.    tyba 12/31/12 -     -

36               

37    Total Patient Protection Act        1,087,098    1,630,647

38               

39               

40        Effective     FY 2010-11    FY 2011-12

41    The Tax Relief,

Unemployment Insurance

Reauthorization, and Job

Creation Act of 2010           

42    Section 179 expensing

amounts and threshold limits

reduced to $125,000/$500,000

for tax year 2012 from the

$500,000 maximum deduction

and $2,000,000 phase-out

threshold that is law for tax

years 2010 and 2011. (sunset

12/31/12) This reduction in

Section 179 expensing amounts

reverses the increases in tax

years 2008 through 2011 as enacted

in earlier legislation including

the Small Business Jobs Act of

2010. The proposed $125,000

/$500,000 levels are identical to

the amounts that existed for tax

year 2007 as established by the

Small Business and Work

Opportunity Tax Act of 2007.    tyba     0    5,049,969

12/31/11

43               

44    Total Tax Relief, Unemployment

Insurance Reauthorization, and

Job Creation Act        0    5,049,969

45               

46               

47        Effective     FY 2010-11    FY 2011-12

48    The Regulated Investment

Company Modernization

Act of 2010           

49    I. Capital loss carryovers of

Regulated Investment Companies

(RIC) derived from long-term

capital losses will now be required

to use those losses to offset

long-term capital gains. This

will result in a greater distribution

of short-term capital gains to

shareholders that will be taxed as

ordinary income. As a partial

offset, the RIC will be permitted

to carryforward its net capital losses

without limit, rather than the 8 years

in previous law.    DOE    8,153     59,790

50    III.3. A RIC may pass-thru exempt

interest dividends in fund of

fund structure without regard to

the requirement that at least 50%

of the value of its total assets

consist of tax-exempt State and

local bonds. Previous law allowed

exempt-interest dividends to be

passed through by a RIC only if at

least 50% of the value of the total

assets consist of tax-exempt

obligations.    tyba DOE    -5,435    -10,871

51    III.6. Allow distributions in

redemption of stock of a RIC to

be treated as an exchange if the

redemption is upon the demand

of the shareholder and the company

issues only stock which is

redeemable upon the demand of

the shareholder. Otherwise, the

redemption is treated as a

distribution of property.    DOE    -13,589    -24,460

52    Modification of sales load basis

deferred rule for RIC to allow

shareholders to take capital losses

for the amount of the load charges

paid on the acquisition of fund

shares after subsequent repurchase

of shares with reinvestment rights.    tyba DOE    -16,306    -21,742

53               

54    Total Regulated Investment

Company Modernization Act        -27,177    2,718

55               

56               

57    Total IRS Conformity Impact        -5,288,658    6,312,069

Approved By:

William C. Gillespie

Board of Economic Advisors

1/ This statement meets the requirement of Section 2-7-71 for a state revenue impact by the BEA, or Section 2-7-76 for a local revenue impact or Section 6-1-85(B) for an estimate of the shift in local property tax incidence by the Office of Economic Research.

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 12-6-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE TO STATE INCOME TAX LAWS, SO AS TO UPDATE THE REFERENCE TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE TO THE YEAR 2010.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 12-6-40(A)(1)(a) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 142 of 2010, is further amended to read:

"(a)    Except as otherwise provided, 'Internal Revenue Code' means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended through December 31, 2009 2010, and includes the effective date provisions contained in it."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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