1688 Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Certificate Files.
1980-1989        Economic &
Community Development

Series 1688: Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Certificate Files. 1952-1993.

Department of Economic and Community Development (RG 76)

Ad valorem tax exemptions were authorized by state law in 1922 to encourage new industry to locate in the state (Laws, 1922, Chap. 138, amended by Chap. 139). During the period 1922 - 1942, the process for seeking such exemptions was changed several times (Code, 1930, Secs. 3109-3115). In 1942, oversight of the process was given to the Agricultural and Industrial Board (Code, 1942, Secs. 9703-9709). There it remained until 1979 when the Board ceased to exist and responsibility for the ad valorem tax exemption was transferred to the Department of Economic Development (Laws, 1979, Chap. 438). Responsibility for the process was then transferred to the State Tax Commission in 1989 (Laws, 1989, Chap. 544).

During the period of these records, industries submitted applications for tax exemptions to the county board of supervisors or the municipality. Upon approval at the local level, copies were forwarded to the Department of Economic Development for investigation and certification. Counties and municipalities could grant exemptions for periods up to ten years and industries could only apply for one 10-year exemption. In 1986, the law was changed so that industries could apply for exemptions each time they added to or expanded their facilities or properties (Laws, 1986, Chap. 407).

Files are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by name of corporation within each box, except for box 19533. The pages following the series listing contain an itemized list of the files.