A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to reform the method of collecting property taxes on automobiles.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  S.L. 2005‑294 is repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑330.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.2.  Appraisal, ownership, and situs. 
(a)	Date Determined. – 
The value of a classified motor vehicle shall be determined as of January 1 of the year in which the motor vehicle is required to be listed pursuant to G.S. 105‑330.3(a). The ownership, situs, and taxability of a classified motor vehicle listed or discovered pursuant to G.S. 105‑312 shall be determined as of January 1 of the year in which the motor vehicle is required to be listed.
(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. If the assessor considers the sales price of the motor vehicle in determining the true value of the motor vehicle, the assessor must not include any amount for which the taxpayer is liable under Article 5A of this Chapter. 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 90 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.
 (c)	Administration. – The Department of Revenue, acting through the Property Tax Division, and the Department of Transportation, acting through the Division of Motor Vehicles, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding concerning the vehicle identification information, name and address of the owner, and other information that will be required on the motor vehicle registration forms to implement the tax listing and collection provisions of this Article."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 105‑330.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.3.  Duty to list classified motor vehicles; application for exempt status.
(a)		 Listing. – The Department of Transportation, acting through the Division of Motor Vehicles, shall list during the listing period set out in G.S. 105‑307(a) all taxable classified motor vehicles that have been titled in the State. The Division of Motor Vehicles shall separate this list by county and send a listing of all the vehicles titled in each county to the assessor of each county by the last day of the following month. The owner of a classified motor vehicle listed pursuant to this subdivision need not list the vehicle as provided in G.S. 105‑306; G.S. 105‑312 does not apply to classified motor vehicles listed pursuant to this subdivision.	(b)	The owner of a classified motor vehicle who claims an exemption or exclusion from tax under this Subchapter has the burden of establishing that the vehicle is entitled to the exemption or exclusion. The owner may establish prima facie entitlement to exemption or exclusion of the classified motor vehicle by filing an application for exempt status with the assessor. When an approved application is on file, the assessor shall omit from the tax records classified motor vehicles described in the application.
(c)	The owner of a classified motor vehicle that has been omitted from the tax records as provided in subsection (a) shall report to the assessor any classified motor vehicle registered in the owner's name or owned by him that does not qualify for exemption or exclusion for the current year. This report shall be made within 30 days after receipt of a tax notice omitting the classified motor vehicle. A classified motor vehicle that does not qualify for exemption or exclusion but has been omitted from the tax records as provided in subsection (a) is subject to discovery under the provisions of G.S. 105‑312, except that in lieu of the penalties prescribed by G.S. 105‑312(h) there shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each registration period that elapsed before the disqualification was discovered.
(c1)	If the owner of a classified motor vehicle moves from one county to another county, the owner shall notify the Division of Motor Vehicles by entering the appropriate information on a form made available by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Division of Motor Vehicles shall make the corresponding changes to the list required by subsection (a). 
(d)	The provisions of G.S. 105‑282.1 do not apply to classified motor vehicles."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 105‑330.4 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.4.  Due date, interest, and enforcement remedies.
(a)	Taxes on a classified motor vehicle shall be due on September 1 following the date by which the vehicle was required to be listed. 		
(b)	Subject to the provisions of G.S. 105‑395.1, interest on delinquent taxes on classified motor vehicles 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 at any time after interest accrues. "
SECTION 5.  G.S. 105‑330.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.5.  Listing and collecting procedures.
(a)	The assessor shall prepare a tax notice for each classified motor vehicle titled in the county; the tax notice shall contain all county, municipal, and special district taxes 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 January 1. This procedure shall constitute the listing and assessment of each classified motor vehicle for taxation. The tax notice shall contain:
(1)	The date of the tax 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. 
 	(b)	When the tax notice required by subsection (a) is prepared, the county tax collector shall mail a copy of the notice, with appropriate instructions for payment, to the motor vehicle owner. The county may retain the actual cost of collecting municipal and special district taxes collected pursuant to this Article, not to exceed one and one‑half percent (1 1/2%) of the amount of taxes collected. The county finance officer shall establish procedures to ensure that tax payments received pursuant to this Article are properly accounted for and taxes due other taxing units are remitted to the units to which they are due at least once each month. Each month, a county shall provide reasonable information to the municipalities and special districts located in it to enable them to account for the tax payments remitted to them.
(b1)	Repealed by Session Laws 1995, c. 329, s. 2.
(c)	The assessor shall appraise each classified motor 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 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 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."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 105‑330.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.6.  Motor vehicle tax year; transfer of plates; surrender of plates.
(a)	Tax Year. –The tax year for a classified motor vehicle is the fiscal year that opens in the calendar year in which the vehicle is required to be listed.
		(c)	Surrender of Plates. – If the owner of a classified motor vehicle either transfers the motor vehicle to a new owner or moves out‑of‑state and registers the vehicle in another jurisdiction, and the owner surrenders the registration plates from the listed vehicle to the Division of Motor Vehicles, then the owner may apply for a release or refund of taxes on the vehicle for any full calendar months remaining in the vehicle's tax year after the date of surrender. To apply for a release or refund, the owner must present to the county tax collector within one year after surrendering the plates the receipt received from the Division of Motor Vehicles accepting surrender of the registration plates. The county tax collector shall then multiply the amount of the taxes for the tax year on the vehicle by a fraction, the denominator of which is the number of months in the tax year and the numerator of which is the number of full calendar months remaining in the vehicle's tax year after the date of surrender of the registration plates. The product of the multiplication is the amount of taxes to be released or refunded. If the taxes have not been paid at the date of application, the county tax collector shall make a release of the prorated taxes and credit the owner's tax notice with the amount of the release. If the taxes have been paid at the date of application, the county tax collector shall direct an order for a refund of the prorated taxes to the county finance officer, and the finance officer shall issue a refund to the vehicle owner."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 105‑330.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑330.7.  List of delinquents sent to Division of Motor Vehicles.
On the first day of February 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. 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."
SECTION 8.  This act is effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2009.