Taxes on Transferred Personal Property

If I sell you my house, you need to worry about old property taxes on that house.  If those taxes aren’t paid, you will become personally responsible for them. Your wages, bank accounts and cars may become targets of enforced collections actions by the county.

But if I sell you my boat, you don’t need to worry about old property taxes on that boat.  You will never be personally responsible for those taxes.

That’s because G.S. 105-365.1 creates different rules for personal responsibility based on the type of property—real or personal—involved.  (By “personal responsibility,” I mean being subject to attachment and garnishment or levy and sale.)

For real property, the owner on the delinquency date (January 6) and all subsequent owners are personally responsible for delinquent property taxes.  (See this blog post for more).  New owners of real property are on the hook for old taxes.

But for personal property, it’s the listing taxpayer and only the listing taxpayer that can be held personally responsible for old taxes.  New owners are never on the hook for old taxes.

Well, almost never.  G.S. 105-366 creates a few exceptions to the general rule. Read more »

Local State of Emergency Declarations – Some FAQs

Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on North Carolina’s coast.  State and local officials are preparing for significant impacts.  The Governor has issued a state of emergency declaration for much of central and eastern North Carolina.  Local officials wonder whether they should issue local declarations within their own jurisdictions.  Can they?  Should they?  If so, how do they?

This post answers some frequently asked questions about the authority of cities and counties to issue local state of emergency declarations.  For those who might be looking for a quick and easy resource, the School of Government has template state of emergency declarations available on our emergency management website at www.sog.unc.edu/ncem under “Sample Documents.”

Read more »

UPDATED: Blood Exposures and NC Communicable Disease Law

What happens when a person has an accidental exposure to someone else’s blood? This is one of my most frequently asked questions. I wrote about it in 2010, but it is time for an update. Since my original post, the bloodborne pathogen rules have been expanded to include hepatitis C virus, and I’ve encountered some new questions that I’d like to address. It’s probably also time to drop the dated reference to vampire literature, as popular culture seems to have moved on to zombies.

This post retains the question and answer format of the first post, with a few new questions and some expanded answers. Section 1 describes what bloodborne pathogens are and the two sets of rules that address them. Section 2 provides an introduction to the rules that address occupational exposures. Section 3 goes into more detail about the rules that address non-occupational exposures.

Read more »

Can the neighbor speak? Can the neighbor appeal? Standing and quasi-judicial hearings

A local development board is set to hold a quasi-judicial hearing for a development permit. The neighbor across the street from the proposed project is set to oppose it.  She wants to voice her concerns in the quasi-judicial hearing—and appeal to court if necessary. Does the neighbor have a right to participate in the hearing? What about a right to appeal the decision? This blog considers those questions in light of North Carolina caselaw including a recent decision from the state Court of Appeals. Read more »

A Foreclosure Fiasco

When done properly, a property tax foreclosure can be an efficient method of satisfying old property taxes while transferring property to new owners who are more likely to pay future property taxes.  When not done properly, a tax foreclosure can produce a hornets’ nest of litigation.  A recent decision from the North Carolina Court of Appeals offers an example of the latter unfortunate situation. Read more »

Administrative Modifications in Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances

In an effort to be business-friendly and to avoid a bunch of extra hearings, city council wants to allow the subdivision review officer to vary the subdivision standards when there is good reason to do so.  But, the statutes say that a variance from the ordinance must be granted by the board of adjustment and only after a quasi-judicial hearing. Can city council authorize administrative modifications to the ordinance?  This blog explores that question in light of a recent court decision regarding subdivision plat approval. Read more »

Conveyance of Local Government Property for Affordable Housing

A developer of affordable housing for low and moderate income persons has approached the City and County about an affordable housing project near the City’s downtown. The developer’s plan is to acquire and assemble two adjacent parcels—one owned by the City and one owned by the County—and then develop 20 units of affordable housing on that site.  There’s a catch: The developer has asked the City and County to provide the two parcels as a gift to the project. Local governments are generally not permitted to make gifts to private individuals or entities, so the developer’s request is immediately problematic. Can the local governments convey their property to the project in order to encourage the development of affordable housing? This post explains North Carolina law pertaining to the developer’s request. Read more »