(A) Except as otherwise provided in § 12-44-30(19), to be eligible for the fee, a sponsor and each sponsor affiliate must invest the minimum investment as defined in § 12-44-30(14). For an enhanced investment pursuant to § 12-44-30(7), a single sponsor must make the investment, unless otherwise provided in that section. The county and the sponsors who are part of the fee agreement may agree that investments by other sponsor affiliates within the investment period qualify for the fee regardless of whether the sponsor affiliate was part of the fee agreement, except that each new sponsor affiliate must invest at least the minimum investment or the enhanced investment if applicable in the project, unless the project is a manufacturing, research and development corporate office, or distribution facility as provided in § 12-44-30(19). To qualify for the fee, the sponsor affiliates must be approved specifically by the county and must agree to be bound by agreements with the county relating to the fee. These sponsor affiliates are not bound by agreements, or portions of agreements, to the extent the agreements do not affect the county. The investments pursuant to this subsection must be at the sponsor’s project. The fee agreement may provide for a process for approval of sponsor affiliates.

(B) The department must be notified in writing of all sponsors or sponsor affiliates which have investments subject to the fee before or within ninety days after the end of the calendar year during which the project, or a phase of it, was placed in service. The department may extend the ninety-day period upon written request. Failure to meet this notice requirement does not affect adversely the fee, but a penalty may be assessed by the department for late notification in an amount of ten thousand dollars a month or portion of a month, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 12-44-130

  • County: means the county or counties in which the project is proposed to be located. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Department: means the South Carolina Department of Revenue. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Enhanced investment: means a project that results in a total investment:

    (a) by a single sponsor investing at least one hundred fifty million dollars and creating at least one hundred twenty-five new full-time jobs at the project; provided that the new full-time jobs requirement of this subsection does not apply to a taxpayer who paid more than fifty percent of all property taxes actually collected in the county for more than twenty-five years, ending on the date of the fee agreement;

    (b) by a single sponsor investing at least four hundred million dollars; or

    (c) that satisfies the requirements of § 11-41-30(2)(a), and for which the Secretary of Commerce has delivered certification pursuant to § 11-41-70(2)(a). See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Fee: means the amount paid in lieu of ad valorem property tax as provided in the fee agreement. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Fee agreement: means an agreement between the sponsor and the county obligating the sponsor to pay fees instead of property taxes during the exemption period for each item of economic development property as more particularly described in § 12-44-40. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Investment period: means the period beginning with the first day that economic development property is purchased or acquired and ending five years after the commencement date; except that for a project with an enhanced investment as described above, the period ends eight years after the commencement date. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Minimum investment: means an investment in the project of at least two and one-half million dollars within the investment period. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Project: means land, buildings, and other improvements on the land, including water, sewage treatment and disposal facilities, air pollution control facilities, and all other machinery, apparatus, equipment, office facilities, and furnishings which are considered necessary, suitable, or useful by a sponsor. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Sponsor: means one or more entities which sign the fee agreement with the county and makes the minimum investment, subject to the provisions of § 12-44-40, each of which makes the minimum investment as provided in item (13) and also includes a sponsor affiliate unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
  • Sponsor affiliate: means an entity that joins with or is an affiliate of a sponsor and that participates in the investment in, or financing of, a project. See South Carolina Code 12-44-30
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