A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the definition of farmer for purposes of applying the sales and use tax exemption to items sold to farmers and to expand the exemption to include items sold to lessors of farmland.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑164.3 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(9a)	Farmer. – A dairy operator, poultry farmer, egg producer, Christmas tree farmer, livestock farmer, crop farmer, tree farmer, nursery operator, greenhouse operator, orchardist, a farmer of an aquatic species as defined in G.S. 106‑758, and any other person coming within the generally accepted definition of the word. Farmer does not include a person who merely cultivates a garden for personal use."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑164.13(1) and (1a), as amended by Section 33.9 of S.L. 2005‑276, read as rewritten:
"(1)	Any of the following items sold to a farmer or to a lessor of farmland who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of farmland for use by the farmer or by a lessor of farmland or the lessor's lessee in the planting, cultivating, harvesting, or curing of Christmas trees and farm crops or in the production of dairy products, eggs, or animals.  
a.	Commercial fertilizer, lime, land plaster, plastic mulch, plant bed covers, potting soil, and seeds.
b.	Farm machinery, attachment and repair parts for farm machinery, and lubricants applied to farm machinery. The term 'machinery' includes implements that have moving parts or are operated or drawn by an animal. The term does not include implements operated wholly by hand or motor vehicles required to be registered under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.
c.	A horse or mule.
d.	Fuel other than electricity.
(1a)	A container sold to a farmer, as defined in subdivision (1) of this section or to a lessor of farmland who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of farmland used for a purpose set out in that subdivision or in packaging and transporting the farmer's or lessor's product for sale."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2006, and applies to sales made on or after that date.