Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
Under ORS
285C.170 qualified property of
an actively authorized business firm in the enterprise zone is exempt from
ad valorem taxation for up to two years, such that:
(1) Consistent with OAR
123-674-6100(4),
this exemption precedes and complements the one under ORS
285C.175, in that:
(a) It applies only to property that is not
yet placed in service before the (January-1) assessment date; and
(b) The property is thus not qualified to
start the three- to five-year exemption period in the present assessment year,
even while the firm may have begun an exemption period on other
property.
(2) This
exemption is largely interchangeable with the one under ORS
307.330 and
307.340 (Commercial Facilities
Under Construction) according to OAR
150-307-0430. Common elements
include but are not limited to:
(a) The firm
must file with the county assessor, as described in section (3) of this rule,
no later than April 1 of each assessment year when the property
exists in the zone/county;
(b) Any
(utility) property subject to central assessment by the Department of Revenue
is disallowed;
(c) Exemption is
permissible for not more than two consecutive years; and
(d) The relationship to ORS
285C.175 as described in section
(1) of this rule is the same in terms of the property's being in service or
not.
(3)
(a) The firm shall file the latest revision
of Department of Revenue Form OR-AP-CIPEZ, 150-310-021, Application for
Construction-in-Process Enterprise Zone Exemption. This is required even if the
firm is also filing under ORS
285C.220 and
285C.225 to claim an exemption
under ORS 285C.175 pursuant to the same
authorization on other qualified property already in service.
(b) An eligible business firm that instead
files Form OR-AP-CACFC, 150-310-020, Application for Cancellation of Assessment
on Commercial Facilities Under Construction, will receive only the treatment
allowed under ORS 307.330; the firm would need to
do so for situations described in section (5) of this rule.
(4) The following are exempt in
the zone, although they would not be under ORS
307.330:
(a) Property at a project site where there is
no construction of or additions to a building or structure;
(b) Mere modifications to a building or
structure;
(c) A nonmanufacturing
facility with re/construction taking less than a year's time to complete and to
put the facility in service;
(d)
Additional property that is not yet placed in service, even though a portion or
element of the project, facility or structure has been completed, consistent
with OAR 123-674-5300(2),
as addressed in subsection (3)(a) of this rule; or
(e) Machinery and equipment that will:
(A) Not be installed in or affixed to a
building, structure or addition thereto; or
(B) Remain personal property after
installation.
(5) Irrespective that property might qualify
under ORS 285C.175, an eligible business
firm may not use the exemption under ORS
285C.170 if, for example:
(a) The property had been exempted for the
previous year at the same site in the zone under ORS
307.330, for whatever
reason;
(b) The firm is a hotel,
motel or destination resort, regardless of the zone;
(c) The firm's Application is not yet
approved-i.e., the firm is not authorized-consistent with OAR
123-674-3000 by the April-1
filing deadline in this rule; or
(d) As of the January 1 assessment date:
(A) The authorization is inactive under ORS
285C.165 unless also renewed by
April 1; or
(B) The zone is
terminated.
(6) Pending approval of its Application,
respective to subsection (5)(c), an eligible business firm may file and have
property exempted as allowed under ORS
307.330, such that:
(a) After approval/authorization, the
assessor may extend exemption under ORS
285C.170 to other qualified
property subject to this rule; but
(b) The ongoing exemption of the property in
the next year may continue only under ORS
307.330, as
applicable.
(7) The
county assessor shall not exempt property specifically under ORS
285C.170, if the assessor has a
reasonable and particular basis to believe that:
(a) The property is or will not be qualified
property when placed in service including, for example, that the exemption
would be in the third year of the first exemption under ORS
285C.175 pursuant to the (only)
applicable authorization;
(b) The
authorized business firm will not qualify under ORS
285C.200; or
(c) Any other applicable requirement under
ORS 285C.170 or
285C.175 will not be satisfied,
including but not limited to zone termination except as provided in OAR
123-650-9500(6) or 123-674-5050(3).
(8) In the face of significant doubts about
conformance with provisions under ORS
285C.170, the assessor may
depend on reasonably requested information or confirmation from the firm or
zone sponsor, before determining to grant the exemption.
(9) Consistent with subsection (2)(c) of this
rule, property exempted under ORS
285C.170 may not receive further
exemption under 307.330 beyond the cumulative two-year period.
(10) In the event that the anticipated
exemption under ORS 285C.175 is unclaimed, denied or
disqualified, the exemption as described in this rule is not necessarily
jeopardized in any way, even for such property that would not normally be
exempt under 307.330.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
285A.075 &
285C.060(1)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
285C.165,
285C.170,
285C.175,
285C.245 &
307.330
