County auditors told of Duke appeal decision

County auditors in South Carolina have been notified by the state Department of Revenue of decisions made in Duke Energy’s appeal of its 2019 property tax assessment. The outcome has implications for Oconee County’s treasury, as Duke is the county’s highest taxpayer. A memo to the county auditors from Taylor Ingram at the DOR states, “Duke is ready and willing to pay an additional amount to the county during this appeal, as the valuation issue is resolved and all that remains is the PVE (Partial Property Valuation Exemption) issue.” However, Ingram notes that the PVE is an issue still ongoing and likely to be ongoing for several years. The basis of the appeal is the exemption passed in 2017 that allows manufacturers to claim a 14.2% exemption (phased in over 6 years, in equal increments) on their property. Duke claims manufacturer status and should be entitled to the exemption. 101.7/WGOG NEWS has learned that, as a result, Oconee has billed Duke for about $3.9 million, most of which is to go to the Oconee School District. The DOR official’s memo to the auditors says, “Based on this appeal, and the resolution of the valuation issue, ‘Duke Energy Carolinas’ has agreed to pay its initial assessment at 92.47% amount, which should be the amount of the incremental exemption for 2019.”  At last reportm Oconee public schools project a deficit of $2.4M for the year starting July 1.  Gloria Moore, the OSD financial director, said Thursday morning:  It (the $2M due OSD) doesn’t mean that our deficit issue is completely resolved, but it makes it much more manageable.  If my projections hold, we would still have deficit of almost $700,000 for this year.”