Senate Bill No. 475–Committee on Taxation

 

March 24, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Taxation

 

SUMMARY—Revises manner of assessing value of certain electric light and power companies. (BDR 32‑1242)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                           Effect on the State: Yes.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to taxation; revising the manner of assessing the value of certain electric light and power companies; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1  Section 1. NRS 361.320 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2  361.320  1.  At the regular session of the Nevada Tax

1-3  Commission commencing on the first Monday in October of each

1-4  year, the Nevada Tax Commission shall establish the valuation for

1-5  assessment purposes of any property of an interstate or intercounty

1-6  nature used directly in the operation of all interstate or intercounty

1-7  railroad, sleeping car, private car, natural gas transmission and

1-8  distribution, water, telephone, scheduled and unscheduled air

1-9  transport, electric light and power companies, and the property of all

1-10  railway express companies operating on any common or contract

1-11  carrier in this state. This valuation must not include the value of

1-12  vehicles as defined in NRS 371.020.

1-13      2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 [and 6] , 4

1-14  and 7 and NRS 361.323, the Commission shall establish and fix the

1-15  valuation of all physical property used directly in the operation of

1-16  any such business of any such company in this state, as a collective

1-17  unit. If the company is operating in more than one county, on

1-18  establishing the unit valuation for the collective property, the

1-19  Commission shall then determine the total aggregate mileage

2-1  operated within the State and within its several counties and

2-2  apportion the mileage upon a mile-unit valuation basis. The number

2-3  of miles apportioned to any county are subject to assessment in that

2-4  county according to the mile-unit valuation established by the

2-5  Commission.

2-6  3.  After establishing the valuation, as a collective unit, of a

2-7  public utility which generates, transmits or distributes electricity, the

2-8  Commission shall segregate the value of any project in this state for

2-9  the generation of electricity which is not yet put to use. This value

2-10  must be assessed in the county where the project is located and must

2-11  be taxed at the same rate as other property.

2-12      4.  After establishing the valuation, as a collective unit, of an

2-13  electric light and power company that places a facility into

2-14  operation on or after July 1, 2003, in a county whose population is

2-15  less than 100,000, the Commission shall segregate the value of the

2-16  facility from the collective unit. This value must be assessed in the

2-17  county where the facility is located and taxed at the same rate as

2-18  other property.

2-19      5.  The Nevada Tax Commission shall adopt formulas and

2-20  incorporate them in its records, providing the method or methods

2-21  pursued in fixing and establishing the taxable value of all property

2-22  assessed by it. The formulas must be adopted and may be changed

2-23  from time to time upon its own motion or when made necessary by

2-24  judicial decisions, but the formulas must in any event show all the

2-25  elements of value considered by the Commission in arriving at and

2-26  fixing the value for any class of property assessed by it. These

2-27  formulas must take into account, as indicators of value, the

2-28  company’s income and the cost of its assets, but the taxable value

2-29  may not exceed the cost of replacement as appropriately

2-30  depreciated.

2-31      [5.] 6.  If two or more persons perform separate functions that

2-32  collectively are needed to deliver electric service to the final

2-33  customer and the property used in performing the functions would

2-34  be centrally assessed if owned by one person, the Nevada Tax

2-35  Commission shall establish its valuation and apportion the valuation

2-36  among the several counties in the same manner as the valuation of

2-37  other centrally assessed property. The Nevada Tax Commission

2-38  shall determine the proportion of the tax levied upon the property by

2-39  each county according to the valuation of the contribution of each

2-40  person to the aggregate valuation of the property. This subsection

2-41  does not apply to a qualifying facility, as defined in 18 C.F.R. §

2-42  292.101, which was constructed before July 1, 1997.

2-43      [6.] 7.  A company engaged in a business described in

2-44  subsection 1 that does not have property of an interstate or

2-45  intercounty nature must be assessed as provided in subsection [8.

3-1  7.] 9.

3-2  8.  As used in this section:

3-3  (a) “Company” means any person, company, corporation or

3-4  association engaged in the business described.

3-5  (b) “Commercial mobile radio service” has the meaning

3-6  ascribed to it in 47 C.F.R. § 20.3 , as that section existed on

3-7  January 1, 1998.

3-8  [8.] 9.  All other property, including, without limitation, that of

3-9  any company engaged in providing commercial mobile radio

3-10  service, radio or television transmission services or cable television

3-11  services, must be assessed by the county assessors, except as

3-12  otherwise provided in NRS 361.321 and 362.100 and except that the

3-13  valuation of land and mobile homes must be established for

3-14  assessment purposes by the Nevada Tax Commission as provided in

3-15  NRS 361.325.

3-16      [9.] 10.  On or before November 1 of each year, the

3-17  Department shall forward a tax statement to each private car line

3-18  company based on the valuation established pursuant to this section

3-19  and in accordance with the tax levies of the several districts in each

3-20  county. The company shall remit the ad valorem taxes due on or

3-21  before December 15 to the Department which shall allocate the

3-22  taxes due each county on a mile-unit basis and remit the taxes to the

3-23  counties no later than January 31. The portion of the taxes which is

3-24  due the State must be transmitted directly to the State Treasurer. A

3-25  company which fails to pay the tax within the time required shall

3-26  pay a penalty of 10 percent of the tax due or $5,000, whichever is

3-27  greater, in addition to the tax. Any amount paid as a penalty must be

3-28  deposited in the State General Fund. The Department may, for good

3-29  cause shown, waive the payment of a penalty pursuant to this

3-30  subsection. As an alternative to any other method of recovering

3-31  delinquent taxes provided by this chapter, the Attorney General may

3-32  bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover

3-33  delinquent taxes due pursuant to this subsection in the manner

3-34  provided in NRS 361.560.

3-35      Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.

 

3-36  H