South Carolina § 6-4-20 - Administration account established; State Treasurer's duties; distribution of account revenues; exceptions to tourism spending mandate.

§ 6-4-20. Administration account established; State Treasurer's duties; distribution of account revenues; exceptions to tourism spending mandate.

(A) An accommodations tax account is created to be administered by the State Treasurer.

(B) At the end of each fiscal year and before August first a percentage, to be determined by the State Treasurer, must be withheld from those county areas collecting four hundred thousand dollars or more from that amount which exceeds four hundred thousand dollars from the tax authorized by Section 12-36-2630(3), and that amount must be distributed to assure that each county area receives a minimum of fifty thousand dollars. The amount withheld from those county areas collecting four hundred thousand dollars or more must be apportioned among the municipalities and the county in the same proportion as those units received quarterly remittances in Section 12-36-2630(3). If the total statewide collections from the local accommodations tax exceeds the statewide collections for the preceding fiscal year then this fifty thousand dollar figure must be increased by a percentage equal to seventy-five percent of the statewide percentage increase in statewide collections for the preceding fiscal year. The difference between the fifty thousand dollars minimum and the actual collections within a county area must be distributed to the eligible units within the county area based on population as determined by the most recent United States census.

(C) At the end of each fiscal year and before August first, the State Treasurer shall distribute to each county area collecting more than fifty thousand dollars but less than four hundred thousand dollars an additional fifteen thousand dollars. If the total statewide collections from the local accommodations tax exceed the statewide collections for the preceding fiscal year, this fifteen thousand dollar figure must be increased by a percentage equal to seventy-five percent of the statewide percentage increase in statewide collections for the preceding fiscal year. This amount must be distributed in the same manner as the fifty thousand dollars in subsection (B). The amount paid those qualified county areas under this subsection must be paid from the account created under this section.

(D) The amount withheld in excess must be distributed to the county areas whose collections exceed four hundred thousand dollars based on the ratio of the funds available to the collections by each county area.

(E) The accommodations tax funds received by a municipality or county in county areas collecting fifty thousand dollars or less are not subject to the tourism-related provisions of this chapter.

(F) Two percent of the local accommodations tax levied pursuant to Section 12-36-2630(3) must be remitted quarterly and equally to the eleven agencies designated by law and regional organizations to administer multi-county tourism programs in the state tourism regions as identified in the promotional publications of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. This remittance is in addition to other funds that may be allocated to the agencies by local governments.

(G) The State Treasurer may correct misallocations to counties and municipalities from accommodations tax revenues by adjusting subsequent allocations, but these adjustments may be made only in allocations made in the same fiscal year as the misallocation.

HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 612, Part II, SECTION 74B; 1991 Act No. 147, SECTION 1; 1991 Act No. 168, SECTION 2.

Code Commissioner's Note

1991 Act No. 168, SECTION 2, originally amended this section by adding item "(5)." By direction of the Code Commissioner, the added text was redesignated as subsection "(G)" to conform to the designations in the earlier amendment of this section by 1991 Act No. 147, SECTION 1.