Georgia § 48-5-511 - Returns of public utilities to commissioner; itemization and fair market value of property; other information; apportionment to more than one tax jurisdiction.

§ 48-5-511. Returns of public utilities to commissioner; itemization and fair market value of property; other information; apportionment to more than one tax jurisdiction.

As used in this Code section, the term "electronic transmission" means any form of communication that does not directly involve the physical transmission of paper and that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process. The chief executive officer of each public utility shall be required to make by electronic transmission an annual tax return of all property located in this state to the commissioner. The return shall be made to the commissioner on or before March 1 in each year and shall be current as of January 1 preceding. The returns of each public utility shall be in writing and sworn to under oath by the chief executive officer to be a just, true, and full return of the fair market value of the property of the public utility without any deduction for indebtedness. Each class or species of property shall be separately named and valued as far as practicable and shall be taxed like all other property under the laws of this state. The returns shall also include the capital stock, net annual profits, gross receipts, business, or income (gross, annual, net, or any other kind) for which the public utility is subject to taxation by the laws of this state. Each parcel of real estate included in the return shall be identified by its street address. If the commissioner is unable to locate the property by its street address after exercising due diligence in attempting to locate the property, then the commissioner may request more information from the taxpayer to help identify the exact location of the property. Such additional information may include a map or parcel identification information. Each chief executive officer shall apportion, under rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner, the fair market value of his or her public utility's properties to this state, if the public utility owns property in states other than this state, and between the several tax jurisdictions in this state. In promulgating the regulations specifying the method of apportionment, the commissioner shall consider: The location of the various classes of property; The gross or net investment in the property; Any other factor reflecting the public utility's investment in property; Pertinent business factors reflecting the utility of the property; Pertinent mileage factors; and Any other factors which in the commissioner's judgment are reasonably calculated to apportion fairly and equitably the property between the various tax jurisdictions. Any reasonable value directly attributable to property physically located in one jurisdiction in this state shall not be apportioned to any other jurisdiction in this state. (Orig. Code 1863, §§ 755, 761; Code 1868, §§ 822, 828; Code 1873, §§ 826, 832; Ga. L. 1874, p. 107, § 2; Ga. L. 1877, p. 126, § 1; Code 1882, §§ 826, 826a, 826d, 832; Ga. L. 1889, p. 29, § 1; Ga. L. 1889, p. 36, § 1; Ga. L. 1890-91, p. 152, §§ 2, 3; Civil Code 1895, §§ 726, 727, 780, 784, 804, 805, 812; Ga. L. 1905, p. 68, § 1; Civil Code 1910, §§ 873, 874, 1032, 1036, 1042, 1043, 1050; Code 1933, §§ 92-2602, 92-2701, 92-2802, 92-2803, 92-5901, 92-5902, 92-5903, 92-5904; Ga. L. 1935, p. 11, § 9; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1119, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 190, § 1; Code 1933, §§ 91A-2202, 91A-2203, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 2009, p. 216, § 2D/SB 240; Ga. L. 2020, p. 254, § 2/SB 410.) The 2020 amendment, effective July 22, 2020, in subsection (a), added paragraph (a)(1), designated the existing provisions as paragraph (a)(2), and inserted "by electronic transmission" in the first sentence of paragraph (a)(2); and inserted "or her" in paragraph (c)(1). See Editor's notes for applicability. Editor's notes. - Code Sections 92-2701 and 92-5901, upon which this Code section is based, were based in part on Ga. Const. 1877, Art. VII, Sec. II, Para. VI, for which there is no corresponding section in either the 1945, 1976, or 1983 Georgia Constitution. Ga. L. 2020, p. 254, § 3/SB 410, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall be applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.