105-277.15A. Taxation of site infrastructure land.

(a) Classification. - Site infrastructure land is designated a special class of property under Section 2(2) of Article V of the North Carolina Constitution and must be appraised, assessed, and taxed in accordance with this section.

(b) (Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning before July 1, 2015) Requirements. - Land qualifies as site infrastructure land if it meets the following size and use requirements:

(1) Size. - The land must consist of at least 100 contiguous acres.

(2) Use. - The land must meet all of the following requirements:

a. It must be zoned for industrial use, office use, or both.

b. A building permit for a primary building or structure must not have been issued for the land, and there is no primary building or structure on the land.

c. It must be classified under G.S. 105-277.3 or have been classified under G.S. 105-277.3 within the previous six months.

(b) (Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2015) Requirements. - Land qualifies as site infrastructure land if it meets the following size and use requirements:

(1) Size. - The land must consist of at least 100 contiguous acres.

(2) Use. - The land must meet all of the following requirements:

a. It must be zoned for industrial use, office use, or both.

b. A building permit for a primary building or structure must not have been issued for the land, and there is no primary building or structure on the land.

(c) (Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning before July 1, 2015) Deferred Taxes. - An owner may defer a portion of tax imposed on site infrastructure land that represents the sum of the increase in value of the property attributable solely to improvements made to the site infrastructure land, if any, and the difference between the true value of the site infrastructure land and the value of the site infrastructure land as if it were classified under G.S. 105-277.3 as agricultural land. The difference between the taxes due under this section and the taxes that would have been payable in the absence of this section is a lien on the site infrastructure land as provided in G.S. 105-355(a). The difference in taxes must be carried forward in the records of each taxing unit as deferred taxes. The deferred taxes are due and payable in accordance with G.S. 105-277.1F when the site infrastructure land loses its eligibility for deferral because of the occurrence of a disqualifying event as follows:

(1) The deferred taxes for the preceding five fiscal years are due and payable when an amount equal to the deferred taxes is not invested in improvements to make the land suitable for industrial use, office use, or both within five years from the first day of the fiscal year the property was classified under this section.

(2) The deferred taxes for the preceding five fiscal years are due and payable when the minimum investment required by subdivision (1) of this subsection is timely made, but the land has been classified under this section for 10 years.

(3) All deferred taxes are due and payable when some or all of the site infrastructure land is rezoned for a use other than for industrial use, office use, or both.

(4) The deferred taxes for the preceding year are due and payable when the land is transferred or when a building permit for a primary building or structure for the land is issued.

(c) (Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2015) Deferred Taxes. - An owner may defer a portion of tax imposed on site infrastructure land that represents the sum of the following: (i) the increase in value of the property attributable solely to improvements made to the site infrastructure land, if any, and (ii) the difference between the true value of the site infrastructure land as it is currently zoned and the value of the site infrastructure land as if it were zoned the same as it was in the calendar year prior to the time the application for property tax relief under this section was filed.

The difference between the taxes due under this section and the taxes that would have been payable in the absence of this section is a lien on the site infrastructure land as provided in G.S. 105-355(a). The difference in taxes must be carried forward in the records of each taxing unit as deferred taxes. The deferred taxes are due and payable in accordance with G.S. 105-277.1F when the site infrastructure land loses its eligibility for deferral because of the occurrence of a disqualifying event as follows:

(1) The deferred taxes for the preceding five fiscal years are due and payable when an amount equal to the deferred taxes is not invested in improvements to make the land suitable for industrial use, office use, or both within five years from the first day of the fiscal year the property was classified under this section.

(2) The deferred taxes for the preceding five fiscal years are due and payable when the minimum investment required by subdivision (1) of this subsection is timely made, but the land has been classified under this section for 10 years.

(3) All deferred taxes are due and payable when some or all of the site infrastructure land is rezoned for a use other than for industrial use, office use, or both.

(4) The deferred taxes for the preceding year are due and payable when the land is transferred or when a building permit for a primary building or structure for the land is issued.

(d) Notice. - On or before September 1 of each year, the collector shall notify each owner to whom a tax deferral has previously been granted of the accumulated sum of deferred taxes and interest. An owner who fails to notify the county assessor when land classified under this section loses its eligibility for classification is subject to a penalty in the amount set in G.S. 105-277.5.

(e) Exception to Payment. - No deferred taxes are due in the following circumstances, and the deferred taxes remain a lien on the land:

(1) When the owner of site infrastructure land that was previously classified under G.S. 105-277.3 does not transfer the land, and the land again becomes eligible for classification under G.S. 105-277.3. In this circumstance, the deferred taxes are payable in accordance with G.S. 105-277.3.

(2) When a portion of the site infrastructure land is transferred for industrial use, office use, or both or has issued for the land a building permit for a primary building or structure for industrial use, office use, or both, and the remainder of the site infrastructure land no longer meets the size requirement of this section. In this circumstance, the deferred taxes for the remainder are payable in accordance with this section without application of the size requirement of subdivision (b)(1) of this section.

(f) Application. - An application for property tax relief provided by this section should be filed during the regular listing period but may be filed after the regular listing period upon a showing of good cause by the applicant for failure to make a timely application, as determined and approved by the board of equalization and review or, if that board is not in session, by the board of county commissioners. An untimely application approved under this subsection applies only to property taxes levied by the county or municipality in the calendar year in which the untimely application is filed. Decisions of the county board may be appealed to the Property Tax Commission. Persons may apply for this property tax relief by entering the appropriate information on a form made available by the assessor under G.S. 105-282.1. An application for property tax relief provided by this section may not be approved for any portion of site infrastructure land which has previously lost eligibility for the program.

(g) Report. - On August 1 of each year, the Secretary shall report to the Department of Commerce the number and location of site infrastructure lands qualified under this section.