Did South Carolina property-tax exemptions also exempt a separately listed solid-waste disposal fee?

Plain-English summary

An assistant comptroller general asked whether statutory property-tax exemptions also covered a separate fee for disposing of solid waste. Some local governments listed such fees as separate items on property tax bills. The AG concluded that the exemption provision did not apply to the fees described.

The distinction was how the charge was measured. The statute exempted specified property from ad valorem taxes, which are based on value. The waste-disposal fees in the request were not based on the value of particular properties. The opinion did not need to decide whether those fees were taxes at all; a footnote suggested they might instead be service charges.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Does listing a waste fee on a property-tax bill make it covered by a property-tax exemption?
No under the facts the AG considered. A separate line on the bill did not make the fee a tax measured by property value.

What kind of tax did the cited exemption provision address?
The AG read it as addressing ad valorem taxes, which are imposed according to the value of property.

Did the AG decide that all waste-disposal fees are taxes?
No. The footnote questioned whether the fees were taxes at all and suggested that they might be service charges.

What was the answer for the separate fee in the request?
The opinion said the property-tax exemption did not extend to that waste-disposal fee.

Background and statutory framework

Section 12-37-220 exempted certain property from ad valorem taxation. The AG compared that value-based tax with the separate solid-waste disposal charges described in the request. Because those charges did not depend on a property's value, he found the exemption inapplicable.

Citations and references

• Section 12-37-220: the property-tax exemption provision interpreted in the opinion.

Official title

Asking if the exemption provisions of Section 12-37-220 apply to a separate fee imposed for the disposal of solid waste.

Requester

Mr. Michael L. Horton, Assistant Comptroller General

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/august-15-1994/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1994aug15horton.pdf

Original opinion text

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
COLUMBIA
OPINION NO.

August 15, 1994

SUBJECT:

Taxation and Revenue - Property Tax Exemption

SYLLABUS:

The exemption provisions of s.c. Code Ann. Section 12-37-220 (Supp. 1993) do not apply to a separate fee imposed for the disposal of solid waste.

TO:

Mr. Michael L. Horton
Assistant Comptroller General

FROM:

Ronald W. Urban i/t1"-Deputy Attorney General

QUESTION:
apply to
waste?
APPLICABLE

a

Do the exemption provisions of Section 12-37-220 separate fee imposed for the disposal of solid LAW:

s.c. Code Ann. Section 12-37-220 (Supp.

1993) .

DISCUSSION:
Many county and city ordinances impose solid waste fees on dwellings, residences or other properties as a means for funding the disposal of solid waste. In some instances, these fees appear on the county or city tax bills as separately stated items. The question posed is whether the exemption provisions of Section 12-37-220 apply to such fees. The language of Section 12-37-220 states that it exempts certain properties from ad valorem taxation. An ad valorem tax is a tax "upon the value of the article or thing subject to taxation." Authur v. Johnston, 185 s.c. 324, 194 S.E. 151 (1937). Inasmuch as the fees in question are not based on the value of any particular property, they are not an a~ valorem tax within the purview of Section 12-37-220.

1 Aside

from
not being
doubtful whether these fees
have all the indicia of a

an ad valorem
are even a tax.
service charge.

tax,
it is
Rather, they
See Brown v.

Mr. Michael L. Horton
Page Two
Accordingly,
the exemption
do not apply to such fees.

August 15, 1994
provisions of Section 12-37-220

CONCLUSION:
The exemption provisions of S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-37-220 (Supp. 1993) do not apply to a separate fee imposed for the disposal of solid waste. RWU:wcg

County of Horry,

~-

s.c. ~-'

417 S.E.2d 565 (1992).