Rutherford County steering committee backs clarifying changes to school facilities tax for commercial buildings

Rutherford County’s steering committee on Tuesday recommended the full county commission approve changes to the county’s School Facilities Tax Collection policy that clarify which commercial floor areas count toward the tax and when the tax is payable.

The revisions, presented by Tanya Bell, a county staff member, define "heated space" and "cooled or air conditioned space" and set rules for so‑called shell or "box" buildings, where a developer builds an unfinished shell and tenants finish individual units later.

The changes matter because in October the county began applying the school facilities tax to commercial property and county staff encountered commercial permit applications where applicants said warehouse areas would not be heated or cooled and therefore not subject to the tax. Bell…