Last month, Georgia House Bill 304 became law. The new law is a "Freeport Exemption;" a "governing authority of any county or municipality may elect, with the approval of the voters," to adopt a Freeport Exemption for specified types of tangible personal property.
A Freeport Exemption may be set at "20, 40, 60, 80, or 100 percent of the inventory value." According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, "[o]ver sixty percent of Georgia counties and cities have adopted the Freeport Exemption at some level."
The bill clarifies "the applicability of an exemption to fertilizer production processes…." HB 304 exempts from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property used in the following manufacturing, processing, or production operations:
- "Cleaning, drying, pest control treatment, or segregation by grade of grain, peanuts or other oil seeds, or cotton;
- The remanufacture of aircraft engines or aircraft engine parts or components…;
- The blending of fertilizer bulk materials into a custom mixture…."
This law amends Code Section 48-5-48.2, and also repeals "conflicting laws." It takes effect January 1, 2014.
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