AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 67-5-2013, relative to collection of property taxes.
Summary
SB1061 amends Tennessee’s property tax collection law to give certain county tax-collecting officials limited discretion to avoid pursuing very small personal property tax debts. For a de minimis personal property tax totaling less than $20 for a specific taxpayer, the county trustee or other collecting official may, if authorized by a private act, resolution, or ordinance, decline to bill the tax, decline to refer it for further collection, or waive any otherwise due penalty or interest for late payment.
The bill also requires the collecting official to keep a list of these de minimis taxes by taxpayer account and year. Even if the tax is not billed or actively collected, it may still be collected later when the taxpayer tenders a tax for a later year, so long as collection is not barred by the statute of limitations. The measure is narrowly tailored to apply only in a county with a 2020-or-later census population between 366,200 and 366,300, and only if the county legislative body approves it by a two-thirds vote.
Impact
The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Section 67-5-2013 by adding a new county-specific exception to the normal property tax collection process. In practical terms, it allows local officials in the qualifying county to reduce administrative costs associated with collecting very small personal property tax amounts, while preserving the ability to recover those amounts later under specified conditions. It affects county trustees or other local property tax collectors and applies only where local authorization is adopted.
Sentiment
The available vote history suggests generally favorable committee sentiment, with the Senate State & Local Government Committee recommending passage with an amendment by a 6-3 vote. That indicates support for the bill’s administrative efficiency goals, though not unanimous agreement. No committee transcript is available, so the broader discussion record is limited, but the committee action points to cautious approval rather than strong controversy.
Contention
The main points of contention likely center on whether local governments should be allowed to forgo collection efforts for small tax debts and whether doing so could create uneven treatment among taxpayers. The bill’s narrow population bracket and requirement for a two-thirds vote of the county legislative body also suggest sensitivity to local control and the desire to limit the measure to a specific county. Opponents may be concerned about precedent, revenue loss, or fairness in waiving collection of otherwise owed taxes, while supporters likely view the bill as a practical way to avoid spending more to collect less.