982-998

REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE
SECTION 982-998




982.  The undistributed or unpartitioned property of deceased
persons may be assessed to the heirs, guardians, conservators,
executors, or administrators. A payment of taxes by any one of them
binds each of the other parties in interest for his proportionate
share.



982.1.  If real property of a deceased person is distributed to the
State because there are no known heirs or because the estate or any
portion thereof is to be distributed to heirs, devisees, or legatees
whose whereabouts are unknown, such real property shall be assessed
to the estate of the decedent and to the State of California. Such
assessment shall involve no liability on the part of the State to pay
taxes except as provided by Sections 4986.5 and 4986.6.



983.  Property in litigation in possession of a county treasurer,
court, county clerk, or receiver shall be assessed to the officer in
possession, and the taxes shall be paid under the direction of the
court.


984.  Water ditches constructed for mining, manufacturing, or
irrigation purposes and toll roads shall be assessed like real
estate, at a rate per mile for that portion of the property lying
within the county.


985.  Every toll bridge connecting two or more counties shall be
assessed in equal proportions in the counties it connects.



986.  The full value of a work of art, still owned by the artist who
created it and which has never been sold nor exhibited for profit,
is the full value of the materials which constitute the work of art.



987.  The assessment of lands owned by a local government that are
located outside its boundaries shall be as specified in Section ll of
Article XIII of the Constitution. The State Board of Equalization
shall compute for each assessment year, on or before the lien date of
that assessment year, the ratio to be applied to land assessed as of
the 1966 lien date and the ratio to be applied to land assessed as
of the 1967 lien date in the manner specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 11 of Article XIII of the Constitution.



988.  (a) The full value of motion pictures, including the negatives
and prints thereof, is the full value of only the tangible materials
upon which such motion pictures are recorded. Such full value does
not include the value of, or any value based upon, any intangible
rights, such as the copyright or the right to reproduce, copy,
exhibit or otherwise exploit motion pictures or the negatives or
prints thereof.
   (b) As used in this section, "motion pictures" includes those
intended for transmission, exhibition, or exploitation, by any means
or method and whether or not production thereof has been completed.
   (c) As used in this section, "negatives and prints" includes any
film or other tangible property, and reproductions thereof, upon
which is recorded by any means or method the sound or action of
motion pictures, in positive, negative, or any other form.



989.  Unredeemed pledged goods in the possession of a pawnbroker,
but not owned by him to hold and dispose of as his property, shall
not be assessed to him.


990.  Where migratory livestock are ranged in two or more counties
during the year, the assessors of the counties interested may meet
and prorate the number of stock to be assessed in each county, taking
into consideration the time such stock ranged in each county.



994.  The following vehicles and equipment, with the exception of
implements of husbandry which are subject to the provisions of
Sections 410 to 414, inclusive, shall be subject to the provisions of
this section, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10758:
   (a) Steel-wheeled and track-laying equipment shall not be subject
to the license fees imposed pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with
Section 10701) of Division 2 of this code, but shall be assessed in
the county where it has situs on the lien date.
   (b) Rubber-tired equipment, except commercial vehicles and cranes
registered under the Vehicle Code and which are licensed under Part 5
(commencing with Section 10701) of Division 2 of this code, which
must be moved or operated under permit issued pursuant to Section
35780 of the Vehicle Code, shall be assessed in the county where it
has situs on the lien date, but the assessee of such property shall
be allowed to deduct from the amount of property tax the amount of
any fee paid on such vehicle under Part 5 (commencing with Section
10701) of Division 2 of this code, if such fee is paid prior to the
lien date for the calendar year in which the lien date occurs.
   (c) Rubber-tired cranes and commercial vehicles which must be
moved or operated under permit issued pursuant to Section 35780 of
the Vehicle Code, and rubber-tired equipment that does not require a
permit, which cranes, vehicles, and equipment are registered under
the Vehicle Code and licensed under Part 5 (commencing with Section
10701) of Division 2 of this code, shall not be otherwise assessed
for purposes of property taxation.



995.  Storage media for computer programs shall be valued on the
1972 lien date and thereafter as if there were no computer program on
such media except basic operational programs. Otherwise, computer
programs shall not be valued for purpose of property taxation.
   As used in this section, storage media for computer programs may
take the form of, but are not limited to, punched cards, tapes, discs
or drums on which computer programs may be embodied or stored.
   As used in this section, a computer program may be, but is not
limited to a set of written instructions, magnetic imprints, required
documentation or other process designed to enable the user to
communicate with or operate a computer or other machinery.




995.2.  The term "basic operational program," as used in Section
995, means a computer program that is fundamental and necessary to
the functioning of a computer. A basic operational program is that
part of an operating system including supervisors, monitors,
executives, and control or master programs that consist of the
control program elements of that system.
   For purposes of this section, the terms "control program" and
"basic operational program" are interchangeable. A control program,
as opposed to a processing program, controls the operation of a
computer by managing the allocation of all system resources,
including the central processing unit, main storage, input/output
devices and processing programs. A processing program is used to
develop and implement the specific applications that the computer is
to perform. Its operation is possible only through the facilities
provided by the control program. It is not in itself fundamental and
necessary to the functioning of a computer.
   Excluded from the term "basic operational program" are processing
programs, which consist of language translators, including, but not
limited to, assemblers and compilers; service programs, including,
but not limited to, data set utilities, sort/merge utilities, and
emulators; data management systems, also known as generalized
file-processing software; and application programs, including, but
not limited to, payroll, inventory control, and production control.
Also excluded from the term "basic operational program" are programs
or parts of programs developed for or by a user if they were
developed solely for the solution of an individual operational
problem of the user.
   A control program, as used in this section, includes the following
functions: selection, assignment, and control of input and output
devices; loading of programs, including selection of programs from a
system resident library; handling the steps necessary to accomplish
job-to-job transition; controlling the allocation of memory;
controlling concurrent operation of multiple programs or computers;
and protecting data from being inadvertently destroyed as a result of
operator program error.



996.  (a) Returnable containers shall be assessed only to the person
in possession thereof on the lien date, provided such person is not
under a legally enforceable duty to return the containers for reuse.
For the purpose of this section, a person is not under a legally
enforceable duty to return returnable containers for reuse merely
because such person has the right to return such containers at his
election for a sum of money equal to the deposit or similar charge
paid by him upon his acquisition of the containers.
   (b) If a deposit or similar charge is paid by the buyer of the
contents with respect to returnable containers assessable in the
manner provided by this section, the cash value of such returnable
containers after initial use shall be the cost of such containers,
less depreciation, but shall not be less than the deposit or similar
charge.
   (c) As used in this section the term "returnable containers" means
containers used to package soft drink beverages and of a kind
customarily returned by the buyer of the contents for reuse.




997.  (a) The cash value of records of persons engaged in a business
or profession for purposes of this division is the cash value only
of the tangible material upon which, or in which, such records are
recorded, maintained or stored. Such cash value shall be determined
without inclusion of or consideration of the intangible value of the
information or data so recorded, maintained or stored, nor the
intangible right to utilize such information or data.
   (b) As used in this section "records" includes all written
documents and photographic reproductions thereof, recorded data,
research notes, calculations, and indices maintained or utilized by
persons engaged in a business or profession.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a determination of full
cash value for (1) books, (2) old newspapers on microfilm, (3)
computer programs and storage media for such programs taxable
pursuant to Section 995, (4) records which are held for sale in the
ordinary course of business, or (5) records which are purchased from
a person who held such records in an inventory of goods for sale in
the ordinary course of business. Records sold only when a business is
sold shall not be considered as "held for sale in the ordinary
course of business."
   (d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the consideration of
research and development, engineering or similar costs in the
valuation of tangible property, other than records.



998.  (a) The full value of a time-share estate or a time-share use
subject to tax under this division shall be determined by finding the
real property value of the interest involved and shall not include
the value of any nonreal property items, including, but not limited
to, vacation exchange rights, vacation conveniences and services, and
club memberships. Accordingly, the full value of a time-share estate
or time-share use may be determined by reference to resort
properties, condominiums, cooperatives, or other properties which are
similar in size, type, and location to the property subject to
time-share ownership and are not owned on a time-share basis. The
aggregate assessed value of all the time-share estates or uses
relating to a single lot, parcel, unit, or other segment of real
property shall be determined by adding (1) the fair market value of
the similar lot, parcel, unit, or other segment not owned on a
time-share basis, and (2) an amount necessary to reflect any increase
or decrease to the market value attributable to the fact that the
property is marketed in increments of time, or by any alternate
method which will determine the real property value without regard to
any nonreal property items which may be included.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall authorize a reassessment of real
property as a result of the creation or transfer of a time-share
interest in the property unless the creation or transfer of the
time-share interest constitutes a change in ownership under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 60) of Part 2 and Section 2 of Article XIII
A of the California Constitution.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "time-share estate" and
"time-share use" shall have the meanings set forth in paragraph (x)
of Section 11212 of the Business and Professions Code, and
"time-share interest" shall refer to both time-share estates and
time-share uses.
   (d) Nothing in this section may be construed as requiring the
assessment of any property at less than fair market value as required
by Section 401.