All real and personal property used in the operation of water transportation carriers within this state shall be assessed for ad valorem taxation by the Tax Division. Water transportation carrier is any person, firm, company, co-partnership, cooperative, association, or corporation engaged in the business of transporting for hire property by boat, barge or other watercraft, over any waterway, whether natural or artificial, within the state.
On or before March 1 of each year, all water transportation carriers operating in Arkansas must file an annual report with the Tax Division showing all property used or held for use in the operation of water transportation as of January 1 next preceding the filing of the annual report.
Any carrier that fails to file an Annual Report on or before March 1st or the extended due date will be subject to a penalty as provided in Ark. Code Ann. §26-26-1604.
Current forms are mailed out annually and can be found on our website www.aspscservices.info/tax. Failure to file using a current report form will result in the report being considered incomplete.
Incomplete Reports, including Reports that do not have all necessary attachments, are delinquent and will be subject to a penalty.
The Tax Division values all property of a water transportation carrier as a unit, whether all or only a part of that property is within this state. The water transportation carrier must list all owned and leased boats, barges, and betterments used or held for use on January 1.
Depreciated Value
The depreciated value of all boats shall be calculated using a 20 year life with a 10% residual value which is a 4.5% per year straight line depreciation.
The depreciated value of all barges shall be calculated using a 25 year life with a 10% residual value which is a 3.6% per year straight line depreciation.
The depreciated value of all betterments shall be calculated using a 7 year life with a 10% residual value which is 12.85% per year straight line depreciation.
After determining the true market or actual value of the entire property, the Tax Division fixes the value of the total operating property in this state. The Arkansas value of the company's property is the system value allocated to Arkansas based on the percentage of miles traveled in this state.
The Division may also determine the state value by using other recognized methods that will result in an equitable apportionment of value to this state. Assessed value is 20% of the Arkansas portion of the true market or actual value.
A notice of the assessment will be mailed to the person designated on the first page of the report to receive correspondence. Any carrier that is dissatisfied with the assessment made by the Tax Division and approved by the Arkansas State Highway Commission may file a written petition for review with the Arkansas State Highway Commission. A petition for review must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice of assessment. All hearings on a petition for review shall be had before the Arkansas State Highway Commission or its agent, on or before December 31st of the assessing year.