A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create a combined motor vehicle registration renewal and property tax collection system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑330 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(4)	Collecting agency. A collecting agency shall mean the Division of Motor Vehicles, an agent contracting with the Division of Motor Vehicles, or any county tax collector."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑330.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Value; Appeal. – A classified motor vehicle shall be appraised by the assessor at its true value in money as prescribed by G.S. 105‑283. The Property Tax Division of the Department of Revenue shall annually adopt a schedule of values, standards, and rules to be used in the valuation of motor vehicles to ensure equitable statewide valuations, taking into account local market conditions and allowing adjustments for mileage and the condition of the vehicles. The owner of a classified motor vehicle may appeal the appraised value of the vehicle in the manner provided by G.S. 105‑312(d) for appeals in the case of discovered property and may appeal the situs or taxability of the vehicle in the manner provided by G.S. 105‑381. The owner of a classified motor vehicle must file an appeal of appraised value with the assessor within 30 days after the date of the tax notice prepared pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.5. Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑312(d), an owner who appeals the appraised value of a classified motor vehicle shall pay the tax on the vehicle when due, subject to a full or partial refund if the appeal is decided in the owner's favor."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 105‑330.4 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.4.  Due date, interest, and enforcement remedies.
(a)	Taxes on a classified motor vehicle listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(2) shall be due on September 1 following the date by which the vehicle was required to be listed. Taxes on a classified motor vehicle listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1) shall be due each year on the following dates:
(1)	For a vehicle registered under the staggered system, taxes shall be due on the date the registration is renewed or a new registration is applied for.
(2)	For a vehicle newly registered under the annual system, taxes shall be due on date the new registration is applied for. For a vehicle whose registration is renewed under the annual system, taxes shall be due on May 1 following the date the registration expired.
(b)	Subject to the provisions of G.S. 105‑395.1, interest on unpaid taxes and registration fees on classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1) accrues at the rate of ten percent (10%) for the first month following the date the taxes were due and three‑fourths percent (3/4 %) for each month thereafter until the taxes are paid, unless the combined tax and registration notice required by G.S. 105‑330.5 is prepared after the date the taxes are due. In that circumstance, the interest accrues beginning the second month following the date of the notice until the taxes are paid. Subject to the provisions of G.S. 105‑395.1, interest on delinquent taxes on classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(2) accrues as provided in G.S. 105‑360(a) and discounts shall be allowed as provided in G.S. 105‑360(c).
(c)	Unpaid taxes on classified motor vehicles may be collected by levying on the motor vehicle taxed or on any other personal property of the taxpayer pursuant to G.S. 105‑366 and G.S. 105‑367, or by garnishment of the taxpayer's property pursuant to G.S. 105‑368. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 105‑366(b), the enforcement measures of levy, attachment, and garnishment may be used to collect unpaid taxes on classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1) at any time after interest accrues. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 105‑355, taxes on classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1) do not become a lien on real property owned by the taxpayer."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 105‑330.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.5.  Listing and collecting procedures.
(a)	For classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1), upon receiving the registration lists from the Division of Motor Vehicles each month, the Property Tax Division shall prepare a combined tax and registration notice for each vehicle; the combined tax and registration notice shall contain all county, municipal, special district  taxes, and registration fees due on the motor vehicle. In computing the taxes, the assessor shall appraise the motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 105‑330.2 and shall use the tax rates of the various taxing units in effect on the first day of the month in which the current vehicle registration expires or the new registration is applied for. This procedure shall constitute the listing and assessment of each classified motor vehicle for taxation. The combined tax and registration notice shall contain:
(1)	The date of the combined tax and registration notice.
(2)	The appraised value of the motor vehicle.
(3)	The tax rate of the taxing units.
(4)	A statement that the appraised value of the motor vehicle may be appealed to the assessor within 30 days after the date of the notice.
(5)	The registration fee imposed by the Division of Motor Vehicles and any other information required by the Division of Motor Vehicles to comply with the provisions of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.
(a1)	When a new registration is obtained for a vehicle registered under the annual system in a month other than December, the assessor shall prorate the taxes due for the remainder of the calendar year. The amount of prorated taxes due is the product of the proration fraction and the taxes computed according to subsection (a). The numerator of the proration fraction is the number of full months remaining in the calendar year following the date the registration is applied for and the denominator of the fraction is 12.
(b)	When the combined tax and registration notice required by subsection (a) is prepared, the Property Tax Division of the Department of Revenue shall mail a copy of the notice, with appropriate instructions for payment, to the motor vehicle owner. The collecting agency may retain a fee for collecting county, municipal, special district taxes, and registration fees collected pursuant to this Article and Chapter 20 of the General Statutes, not to exceed the fee established by the Division of Motor Vehicles for transactions conducted by contract agents. The Property Tax Division shall establish procedures to ensure that tax payments and registration fees received pursuant to this Article and Chapter 20 of the General Statutes are properly accounted for and taxes and registration fees due other taxing units and the Division of Motor Vehicles are remitted at least once each month. Each month, a collecting agency shall provide reasonable information to the taxing units and Division of Motor Vehicles to enable them to validate the tax payments received by them.
(b1)	Repealed by Session Laws 1995, c. 329, s. 2.
(c)	For classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(2), the assessor shall appraise each vehicle in accordance with G.S. 105‑330.2. The assessor shall prepare a tax notice for each vehicle before September 1 following the January 31 listing date; the tax notice shall include all county and special district taxes due on the motor vehicle. In computing the taxes, the assessor shall use the tax rates of the taxing units in effect for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 following the January 31 listing date. Municipalities shall list, assess, and tax classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(2) as provided in G.S. 105‑326, 105‑327, and 105‑328 and shall send tax notices as provided in this section.
(d)	The county shall include taxes on classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a)(1) in the tax levy for the fiscal year in which the taxes become due and shall charge the taxes to the tax collector for that year, unless the tax notice required by subsection (a) is prepared after the date the taxes are due. If that occurs, the county shall include the taxes from that notice in the tax levy for the current fiscal year and shall charge the taxes to the tax collector for that year."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 105‑330.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.7.  List of delinquents sent to Division of Motor Vehicles.
On the tenth day of each month the county tax collector shall prepare a list with the name and address of the owner and the vehicle identification number of every classified motor vehicle listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a) on which taxes remain unpaid on that date and on which taxes became delinquent. The tax collector shall mail that list to the Division of Motor Vehicles. The list shall be in the form and contain the information required by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Division of Motor Vehicles shall place a block on the registration and vehicle identification number of any vehicle upon which delinquent taxes are owed. In no event shall the owner of a vehicle that has had a registration and vehicle identification number blocked be able to register a vehicle that has been blocked, transfer a registration plate that has been blocked to another vehicle, or transfer ownership of a vehicle that has been blocked until all delinquent taxes are paid and the owner provides a certificate issued by the county tax collector that all taxes due have been paid."
SECTION 6.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to develop and implement an integrated computer system that allows the Division of Motor Vehicles, Property Tax Division, and all county tax collectors to collect property taxes due on motor vehicles and issue registration plates for all registered vehicles.
SECTION 7.  This act is effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2007.