7-53-305 - Exemption from taxation Payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes Securities.
7-53-305. Exemption from taxation Payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes Securities.
(a) The corporation is hereby declared to be performing a public function in behalf of the municipality with respect to which the corporation is organized and to be a public instrumentality of such municipality. Accordingly, the corporation and all properties at any time owned by it, and the income and revenues from the properties, and all bonds issued by it, and the income from the bonds, shall be exempt from all taxation in the state of Tennessee. Also for purposes of the Securities Act of 1980, compiled as title 48, chapter 2, part 1, bonds issued by the corporation shall be deemed to be securities issued by a public instrumentality or a political subdivision of the state of Tennessee.
(b) (1) The municipality has the power to delegate to the corporation the authority to negotiate and accept from the corporation's lessees, payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes; provided, that any such authorization shall be granted only upon a finding that such payments are deemed to be in furtherance of the corporation's public purposes as defined in this section; provided, further, that no contract, lease, understanding, or other agreement of any kind, including any renewal or extension of the agreement, entered into by a municipality or corporation to which such authority has been delegated shall permit payment in lieu of taxes to be waived or otherwise not assessed for a period of greater than twenty (20) years from the date of such contract, lease, understanding or other agreement, unless both the commissioner of economic and community development and the comptroller of the treasury have made a written determination that such agreement is in the best interest of the state. The corporation shall attach to each agreement an analysis of the costs and benefits of the agreement, in such manner and under such conditions as shall be prescribed by the commissioner of economic and community development or the commissioner's designee. The legislative body of the municipality making such delegation may, in its sole discretion, require the corporation to submit any such agreement to such legislative body for its approval. With regard to any project located within an area designated as the center-city area by a municipality in which there has been created a central business improvement district pursuant to chapter 84 of this title, the amount of such payments shall not be fixed below the lesser of:
(A) Ad valorem taxes otherwise due and payable by a tax paying entity upon the current fair market value of the leased properties; or
(B) Ad valorem taxes that were or would have been due and payable on the leased properties for the period immediately preceding the date of their acquisition by the corporation.
(2) The minimum payments in subdivisions (b)(1)(A) and (B) shall not be applicable to an eligible headquarters facility.
(c) The provisions of this section shall apply, from the date of their issuance, to all bonds heretofore or hereafter issued under the provisions of this chapter and the income from such bonds whether heretofore or hereafter received.
(d) (1) Payments in lieu of taxes and any lease payments payable to a corporation, to the extent such payments in lieu of taxes and lease payments in the aggregate do not exceed ad valorem taxes otherwise due and payable where the leased property is owned by an entity subject to taxation, shall become and remain a first lien upon the fee interest in the leased property from January 1 of the year in which such payment in lieu of taxes on lease payments is due. The corporation may enforce such lien, and also obtain interest at ten percent (10%) per annum from the date due and reasonable attorneys' fees, by suit filed in the circuit or chancery court.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (d)(1) shall apply with equal force to all such subleases and their sublessees.
(3) To the extent lease payments or payments in lieu of taxes exceed the amount necessary to defray debt service on project bonds or other financing, any payments not timely made as agreed may be collected by or on behalf of the city or county in the same manner as delinquent property taxes.
(e) (1) On or before October 1 of each year, the corporation lessee shall submit to the state board of equalization an annual report containing:
(A) A list of all the real and personal property owned by the corporation and its associated entities and subsidiaries;
(B) The value of each listed property as estimated by the lessee;
(C) The date and term of the lease for each listed property;
(D) The amount of payments made in lieu of property taxes for each listed property;
(E) The date each listed property is scheduled to return to the regular tax rolls;
(F) A calculation of the taxes that would have been due for each listed property if the properties were privately owned or otherwise subject to taxation;
(G) The property address and parcel identification number of the property assigned by the assessor of property;
(H) The amount of rents paid to the governing body;
(I) The amount of any property taxes paid on the leasehold assessment under § 67-5-502(d);
(J) Any changes in the name since the last filing;
(K) How the payments in lieu of taxes are allocated according to the economic development agreement; and
(L) Identification of project type according to definitions provided in this chapter.
(2) A copy of the filing made pursuant to subdivision (e)(1) shall be filed with the assessor of property in the county where the property is located on or before October 15 of the year in which the filing is made with the state board of equalization. The assessor of property may audit or review, or both, the data report on all payment in lieu of tax agreements and conduct comparative analysis to ensure that all agreements are reported to the assessor of property.
(3) [Deleted by 2008 amendment.]
(4) Each lessee of the corporation shall be responsible for the timely completion and filing of the report. Failure to timely complete and file the report shall subject the lessee to a late filing fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) payable to the state board of equalization. In addition, any lessee failing to file the report with the board or the assessor within thirty (30) days after written demand for the report, shall owe an additional payment in lieu of tax in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500). This payment shall be collectable by the trustee for the benefit of the county, in the same manner as property taxes, on certification from the board or the assessor.
(f) The corporation to which authority has been delegated to create pilot leaseholds and payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes shall prepare biannual reports detailing the lessee's compliance with the terms and conditions of the pilot lease agreement or any other agreement whereby ad valorem taxes are substituted in favor of a payment in lieu of taxes. Such report shall detail the lessee's compliance and noncompliance where applicable, and its fiscal impact on revenues generated from ad valorem taxes in each municipality affected by such payment in lieu of taxes. The provisions of this subsection (f) shall apply only to counties with populations of eight hundred thousand (800,000) or more, according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census, and to municipalities within such counties.
(g) (1) An industrial development corporation may not negotiate any payment in lieu of tax agreement for less than the county ad valorem taxes otherwise due unless:
(A) The corporation is a joint corporation organized by the county and one or more of the municipalities in the county;
(B) The corporation has entered into an interlocal agreement with the county in regard to payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes; or
(C) The corporation has received written approval from the county mayor and the legislative body of the county regarding payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (g)(1) shall apply to any county having a population of not less than eight hundred ninety-seven thousand four hundred (897,400) nor more than eight hundred ninety-seven thousand five hundred (897,500) and at least five (5) industrial development corporations formed under title 7, chapter 53, according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census.
[Acts 1955, ch. 210, § 11; 1959, ch. 222, § 4; 1969, ch. 55, § 3; 1969, ch. 244, § 1; 1971, ch. 304, §§ 3, 4; 1976, ch. 515, § 6; 1978, ch. 739, § 6; T.C.A., § 6-2811; Acts 1986, ch. 724, § 1; 1997, ch. 243, § 1; 1997, ch. 398, § 1; 1998, ch. 828, §§ 4-6; 2000, ch. 914, § 1; 2000, ch. 961, § 1; 2001, ch. 339, §§ 1, 2; 2002, ch. 605, § 1; 2002, ch. 712, § 1; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2003, ch. 405, § 1; 2004, ch. 813, § 1; 2007, ch. 449, § 1; 2008, ch. 694, § 2; 2008, ch. 1013, §§ 2, 3.]