THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502050036
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Taxpayers who missed the Jan. 6 deadline for state property taxes may not be penalized this year if a bill introduced last week in the General Assembly is approved.
The measure was intended to help Beaufort County put an end to a yearlong property-revaluation controversy that saw a record number of property owners question the latest property values, according to state and local officials.
Rep. Zeno Edwards, R-Beaufort, the bill's sponsor, said the measure will apply to all counties in the state but that Beaufort County is the only county statewide to seek the measure and will probably be the only one in the state to take advantage of the legislation if it's approved by the General Assembly.
The legislation would give county boards of commissioners the flexibility to delay accrual of interest on property tax bills that were not paid by the Jan. 6 deadline this year. It would allow county boards to roll back interest from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15 on unpaid property taxes for fiscal year 1994-95.
It is scheduled for its first review by the General Assembly on Tuesday by the House Finance Committee.
The bill is one of about 140 pieces of legislation introduced during the second week of the 1995 session.
Other bills of regional interest introduced include a package of four measures approved by a panel studying seafood and aquaculture issues calling for $1.8 million in spending for the Division of Marine Fisheries and fisheries research this year.
The bills, sponsored in the House by Rep. David Redwine, D-Brunswick, and in the Senate by Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, call for 1994-95 appropriations of $177,303 for shellfish location studies; $80,000 for the state Marine Fisheries Commission; $350,000 for the shellfish enhancement program; and $1.28 million to increase marine fisheries patrols.
A fifth bill introduced by Redwine and Albertson, co-chairmen of the seafood and aquaculture study panel, would extend to commercial aquaculture operations the sales tax exemptions now in place for seeds, farm machines and agriculture feed.
The funding bills were referred to House and Senate appropriations panels. The sales tax exemption was referred to finance committees. In discussing his property tax bill, Edwards said he introduced the measure in response to concerns raised by Beaufort County's commissioners over the later-than-usual mailing of that county's property tax bills.
During the past year, a record number of property owners in Beaufort County have questioned new appraisals of their property - particularly owners of small farms and waterfront property - made during revaluation last year.
Beaufort County Manager Donald Davenport said last week that the county's Board of Equalization and Review - the first stop for property owners who question the valuation of their property - did not finish meeting with county taxpayers until December 1994.
This helped delay the mailing of property tax bills in Beaufort County until December - about three months later than the usual mailing date in mid-September.
The county commissioners had sought an extension of the deadline for paying property taxes as a means of resolving local concerns over the late mailing but were told that measure would face more opposition in the General Assembly. The measure proposed by Edwards would allow the commissioners to do essentially the same thing but will probably face less opposition by state lawmakers, county and state officials said.
``The commissioners hoped that this bill would put an end to the controversy over revaluation,'' Davenport said.
Interest will continue to accumulate on unpaid property tax bills and if the legislature approves the measure, the county will refund that interest to taxpayers that accrues from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, Davenport said. by CNB