Assembly Bill No. 530–Committee on Taxation

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to property tax; requiring a company that uses certain property of an interstate or intercounty nature directly in its operations to file with the Nevada Tax Commission written reports to enable the Commission to establish an appropriate valuation of the property; providing for an extension of time in which to file a required report; providing for the payment of a penalty for failure to file a required report by the date due; providing for the collection of penalties and interest for the late payment of certain property taxes; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1. Chapter 361 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

thereto a new section to read as follows:

    1.  To enable the Nevada Tax Commission to establish

appropriate valuations of property pursuant to subsection 1 of

NRS 361.320, each company that uses property subject to

valuation pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 361.320 shall file with

the Nevada Tax Commission a written report, signed under

penalty of perjury, that contains such financial and other

information as required by the Nevada Tax Commission. Except

as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the report must be filed:

    (a) On or before March 31 of each year; or

    (b) If the Nevada Tax Commission notifies the company that

the Nevada Tax Commission will determine the valuation of the

property for the first time or because the property has been found

to be escaping taxation, within 45 days after receipt of the

notification.

    2.  A company subject to the reporting requirements of

subsection 1 may, at any time before the date otherwise due for the

filing of the report, submit a written request to the Department for

an extension of time in which to file the report with the Nevada

Tax Commission. If the Department determines that good cause

exists for an extension, the Department may grant the company a

45-day extension in which to file the report.

    3.  If a company subject to the reporting requirements of

subsection 1 fails to provide the required report to the Nevada Tax

Commission by the date due, the Nevada Tax Commission may

make an estimate of the value of the property and assess it

accordingly.

    4.  If a company subject to the reporting requirements of

subsection 1 fails to file a required report by the date due, the

company shall pay to the Department a penalty of 10 percent of

the tax due or $5,000, whichever is less. The Department shall

deposit any amount paid as a penalty in the State General Fund.

The Department may, for good cause shown, waive the payment of

the penalty or any part thereof.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 361.320 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    361.320  1.  At the regular session of the Nevada Tax

Commission commencing on the first Monday in October of each

year, the Nevada Tax Commission shall examine the reports filed

pursuant to section 1 of this act and establish the valuation for

assessment purposes of any property of an interstate or intercounty

nature used directly in the operation of all interstate or intercounty

railroad, sleeping car, private car, natural gas transmission and

distribution, water, telephone, scheduled and unscheduled air

transport, electric light and power companies, and the property of all

railway express companies operating on any common or contract

carrier in this state. This valuation must not include the value of

vehicles as defined in NRS 371.020.

    2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 6 and

NRS 361.323, the Nevada Tax Commission shall establish and fix

the valuation of all physical property used directly in the operation

of any such business of any such company in this state, as a

collective unit. If the company is operating in more than one county,

on establishing the unit valuation for the collective property, the

Nevada Tax Commission shall then determine the total aggregate

mileage operated within the State and within its several counties and

apportion the mileage upon a mile-unit valuation basis. The number

of miles apportioned to any county are subject to assessment in that

county according to the mile-unit valuation established by the

Nevada Tax Commission.

    3.  After establishing the valuation, as a collective unit, of a

public utility which generates, transmits or distributes electricity, the

Nevada Tax Commission shall segregate the value of any project in

this state for the generation of electricity which is not yet put to use.

This value must be assessed in the county where the project is

located and must be taxed at the same rate as other property.

    4.  The Nevada Tax Commission shall adopt formulas and

incorporate them in its records, providing the method or methods

pursued in fixing and establishing the taxable value of all property

assessed by it. The formulas must be adopted and may be changed

from time to time upon its own motion or when made necessary by

judicial decisions, but the formulas must in any event show all the

elements of value considered by the Nevada Tax Commission in

arriving at and fixing the value for any class of property assessed by

it. These formulas must take into account, as indicators of value, the

company’s income and the cost of its assets, but the taxable value

may not exceed the cost of replacement as appropriately

depreciated.

    5.  If two or more persons perform separate functions that

collectively are needed to deliver electric service to the final

customer and the property used in performing the functions would

be centrally assessed if owned by one person, the Nevada Tax

Commission shall establish its valuation and apportion the valuation

among the several counties in the same manner as the valuation of

other centrally assessed property. The Nevada Tax Commission

shall determine the proportion of the tax levied upon the property by

each county according to the valuation of the contribution of each

person to the aggregate valuation of the property. This subsection

does not apply to a qualifying facility, as defined in 18 C.F.R. §

292.101, which was constructed before July 1, 1997.

    6.  A company engaged in a business described in subsection 1

that does not have property of an interstate or intercounty nature

must be assessed as provided in subsection [8.] 7.

    [7.  As used in this section:

    (a) “Company” means any person, company, corporation or

association engaged in the business described.

    (b) “Commercial mobile radio service” has the meaning

ascribed to it in 47 C.F.R. § 20.3 as that section existed on

January 1, 1998.

    8.] 7. All other property, including, without limitation, that of

any company engaged in providing commercial mobile radio

service, radio or television transmission services or cable television

services, must be assessed by the county assessors, except as

otherwise provided in NRS 361.321 and 362.100 and except that the

valuation of land and mobile homes must be established for

assessment purposes by the Nevada Tax Commission as provided in

NRS 361.325.

    [9.] 8. On or before November 1 of each year, the Department

shall forward a tax statement to each private car line company based

on the valuation established pursuant to this section and in

accordance with the tax levies of the several districts in each county.

The company shall remit the ad valorem taxes due on or before

December 15 to the Department which shall allocate the taxes due

each county on a mile-unit basis and remit the taxes to the counties

no later than January 31. The portion of the taxes which is due the

State must be transmitted directly to the State Treasurer. A company

which fails to pay the tax within the time required shall pay a

penalty of 10 percent of the tax due or $5,000, whichever is greater,

in addition to the tax. Any amount paid as a penalty must be

deposited in the State General Fund. The Department may, for good

cause shown, waive the payment of a penalty pursuant to this

subsection. As an alternative to any other method of recovering

delinquent taxes provided by this chapter, the Attorney General may

bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover

delinquent taxes due pursuant to this subsection in the manner

provided in NRS 361.560.

    9.  As used in this section:

    (a) “Company” means any person, company, corporation or

association engaged in the business described.

    (b) “Commercial mobile radio service” has the meaning

ascribed to it in 47 C.F.R. § 20.3, as that section existed on

January 1, 1998.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 361.3205 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    361.3205  1.  The Department shall enter on a central

assessment roll the assessed valuation established for such classes of

property as are enumerated in NRS 361.320, except for private car

lines, together with the apportionment of each county of the

assessment.

    2.  On or before January 1 of the fiscal year in which the

assessment is made, the Department shall mail to each taxpayer on

the central assessment roll a notice of the amount of his assessment.

The Department shall bill each such taxpayer pursuant to subsection

3 of NRS 361.480. [The] Except as otherwise provided in

subsection 3, the tax must be paid to the Department pursuant to

NRS 361.483.

    3.  If the amount of any tax required by NRS 361.320 or

361.321 for property placed on the unsecured tax roll is not paid

within 10 days after it is due, it is delinquent and must be collected

as other delinquent taxes are collected by law, together with a

penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the tax which is owed, as

determined by the Department, in addition to the tax, plus interest

at the rate of 1 percent per month, or fraction of a month, from the

date the tax was due until the date of payment. The Department

shall deposit all amounts paid as a penalty or interest pursuant to

this subsection in the State General Fund.

    4.  Upon receipt, the Department shall apportion and promptly

remit all taxes due each county.

    [4.] 5. As an alternative to any other method of recovering

delinquent taxes provided by this chapter, the Attorney General may

bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover

delinquent taxes due under this section in the manner provided in

NRS 361.560.

    Sec. 4.  NRS 361.330 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    361.330  No assessment of property is invalid, and no

collection of taxes may be enjoined, restrained or ordered to be

refunded, on account of any failure:

    1.  To do any act required by NRS 361.315 to 361.325,

inclusive[;] , and section 1 of this act; or

    2.  To do any act required by this chapter within the time so

required, if notice and an opportunity to be heard were afforded

generally to the class of taxpayers affected by the act required to be

done.

    Sec. 5.  1.  This section and sections 1, 2 and 4 of this act

become effective upon passage and approval.

    2.  Section 3 of this act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.

 

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