77-6203 Nameplate capacity tax; annual payment; exemptions; Department of Revenue; duties; owner; file report; interest; penalties.
77-6203. Nameplate capacity tax; annual payment;exemptions; Department of Revenue; duties; owner; file report; interest; penalties.(1) The ownerof a wind energy generation facility annually shall pay a nameplate capacitytax equal to the total nameplate capacity of the commissioned wind turbineof the wind energy generation facility multiplied by a tax rate of three thousandfive hundred eighteen dollars per megawatt.(2) No tax shallbe imposed on a wind energy generation facility:(a) Owned or operated bythe federal government, the State of Nebraska, a public power district, apublic power and irrigation district, an individual municipality, a registeredgroup of municipalities, an electric membership association, or a cooperative;or(b)That is a customer-generator as defined in section 70-2002.(3) No tax leviedpursuant to this section shall be construed to constitute restricted fundsas defined in section 13-518 for the first five years after the wind energygeneration facility is commissioned.(4) The presence of one or more wind energy generationfacilities or supporting infrastructure shall not be a factor in the assessment,determination of actual value, or classification under section 77-201 of thereal property underlying or adjacent to such facilities or infrastructure.(5)(a) The Departmentof Revenue shall collect the tax due under this section.(b) The tax shallbe imposed beginning the first calendar year the wind turbine is commissioned.A wind energy generation facility commissioned prior to July 15, 2010, shallbe subject to the tax levied pursuant to sections 77-6201 to 77-6204 on andafter January 1, 2010. The amount of property tax previously paid on a windenergy generation facility commissioned prior to July 15, 2010, which is greaterthan the amount that would have been paid pursuant to sections 77-6201 to 77-6204 from the date of commissioning until January 1, 2010, shall be creditedagainst any tax due under Chapter 77, and any amount so credited that is unusedin any tax year shall be carried over to subsequent tax years until fullyutilized.(c)(i)The tax for the first calendar year shall be prorated based upon the numberof days remaining in the calendar year after the wind turbine is commissioned.(ii) In the firstyear in which a wind energy generation facility is taxed or in any year inwhich additional commissioned nameplate capacity is added to a wind energygeneration facility, the taxes on the initial or additional nameplate capacityshall be prorated for the number of days remaining in the calendar year.(iii) When a windturbine is decommissioned or made nonoperational by a change in law or decertificationfrom its status as a certified renewable export facility during a tax year,the taxes shall be prorated for the number of days during which the wind turbinewas not decommissioned or was operational.(iv) When the capacity of a wind turbine to produceelectricity is reduced but the wind turbine is not decommissioned, the nameplatecapacity of the wind turbine is deemed to be unchanged.(6)(a) On March1 of each year, the owner of a wind energy generation facility shall filewith the Department of Revenue a report on the nameplate capacity of the facilityfor the previous year from January 1 through December 31. All taxes shallbe due on April 1 and shall be delinquent if not paid on a quarterly basison April 1 and each quarter thereafter. Delinquent quarterly payments shalldraw interest at the rate provided for in section 45-104.02, as such ratemay from time to time be adjusted.(b) The owner of a wind energy generation facilityis liable for the taxes under this section with respect to the facility, whetheror not the owner of the facility is the owner of the land on which the facilityis situated.(7)Failure to file a report required by subsection (6) of this section, filingsuch report late, failure to pay taxes due, or underpayment of such taxesshall result in a penalty of five percent of the amount due being imposedfor each quarter the report is overdue or the payment is delinquent, exceptthat the penalty shall not exceed ten thousand dollars.(8) The Departmentof Revenue shall enforce the provisions of this section. The department shalladopt and promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the implementationand enforcement of this section.(9) The Department of Revenue shall separately identifythe proceeds from the tax imposed by this section and shall pay all such proceedsover to the county treasurer of the county where the wind energy generationfacility is located within thirty days after receipt of such proceeds. SourceLaws 2010, LB1048, § 14.Effective Date: July 15, 2010