Tax-listing schedule to be considered
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 12, 2008 1:46 PM
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners will be asked to approve a local property tax listing period to run from Friday, Jan. 2, through Saturday, Jan. 31.
The schedule will be considered at the commissioners' meeting Tuesday morning.
Any listing after that period will be subject to a penalty of 10 percent of the taxes levied. Failure to list property is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
All real estate in the county is permanently listed and automatically charged to the owner of record on Jan 1.
City and county listings are made simultaneously.
No listing needs to be made on real estate unless improvements have been made to it since the last listing or unless the owner's address has changed since Jan. 1.
The improvements must be reported to the county tax office located on the first floor of the courthouse annex. The information may be made on a listing form or by word of mouth at the tax office.
Any person or firm owning tangible personal property such as machinery, fixtures and equipment, unlicensed vehicles, boats, motors, jet skis, airplanes and mobile home must file a return with a list taker at the tax office or by mail.
A mobile home that is in livable condition, or that is being lived in, will have a minimum value of $1,000.
All business firms with property in the county on Jan. 1 must file a return regardless of the location of the owner's residence or of the home office.
In lieu of filing a return, all business firms must file the required business listing form. Tax officials caution business owners to ensure that the values returned are identical or reconciled with those in the firm's state income tax return.
All business-listing forms must be forwarded directly to the county tax department or given to the list takers.
All individuals residing, even temporarily, in the county on Jan. 1 are required to make a return here. Members of the armed forces are required under legal or voting residence, and not wherever they might be on Jan. 1 to make a return.
A business operated by military personnel is taxable at the location of the business. Also, civilian personnel attached to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and who resided in the county on Jan. 1 are required to make a return.
Licensed motor vehicles will be taxed according to state law. Airplanes will be valued based on the Aircraft Bluebook; boats and motors valued based on Vessel Valuation Services, Inc.; and mobile homes based on values provided by TEC Data Systems, Inc.