O.C.G.A. § 48-5-440 (2019)
Definitions
As used in this article, the term:
(1) “Antique or hobby or special interest motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is 25 years old or older as indicated by the model year or a motor vehicle which has been designed and manufactured to resemble an antique or historical vehicle.
(1.1) “Commercial vehicle” means a truck, truck-tractor, trailer, or semitrailer which is a commercial vehicle:
(A) Registered or registerable under the International Registration Plan pursuant to Code Section 40-2-88; or
(B) Would otherwise be registerable under the International Registration Plan pursuant to Code Section 40-2-88 except that such vehicle is only engaged in intrastate commerce.
(2) “Driver educational motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is furnished and assigned to a public school in this state for use by the school in a program of driver education when the assignment is authorized and approved by the local board of education.
(2.1) “Initial registration period” has the same meaning as provided in paragraph (.1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-21.
(3) “Mobile homes” means manufactured homes and relocatable homes as defined in Part 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Title 8. Any mobile home which qualifies the taxpayer for a homestead exemption under the laws of this state shall not be considered a mobile home nor subject to this article. This article shall not apply to dealers engaged in the business of selling mobile homes at wholesale or retail and every mobile home owned in this state on January 1 by a dealer shall be subject to ad valorem taxation in the same manner as other taxable tangible personal property.
(4) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle which is designed primarily for use upon the public roads. Such term shall not include heavy-duty equipment as defined in paragraph (2) of Code Section 48-5-500 which is owned by a nonresident and operated in this state.
(5) “Owner” has the same meaning as provided in paragraph (.2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-21.
(6) “Registration period” has the same meaning as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-21.
History
Ga. L. 1966, p. 517, § 2; Ga. L. 1967, p. 603, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 1529, § 2; Code 1933, §§ 91A-1902, 91A-1921, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1980, p. 1390, § 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1376, §§ 6, 8; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 37; Ga. L. 1986, p. 180, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1551, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1012, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1678, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 419, § 34; Ga. L. 1997, p. 957, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 667, § 3B.
Annotations
Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1993, p. 1012, §§ 3 and 4, not codified by the General Assembly, provide: “Section 3. This Act is passed pursuant to Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III of the Constitution of the State of Georgia which provides that heavy-duty equipment motor vehicles owned by nonresidents and
operated in this state may be classified as a separate class of property for ad valorem property tax purposes and different rates, methods, and assessment dates may be provided for such motor vehicles and which authorizes the General Assembly to provide by general law for the ad valorem taxation of motor vehicles. “Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor [April 13, 1993] or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall apply to heavy-duty equipment brought into this state after such effective date during the 1993 taxable year.” Law reviews. For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 215 (1997).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Farm tractor not a motor vehicle. - Farm tractor not being designed primarily for use upon the public roads is not a motor vehicle, although under rare circumstances a particular use of such tractor may require the tracter’s licensing. 1965-66 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 66-102.
Equipment permanently attached to a truck. - Value of equipment permanently attached to a truck is used in determining the taxable value of the motor vehicle. 1965-66 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 66-102.
RESEARCH REFERENCES C.J.S. 101A C.J.S., Zoning and Land Planning, § 56.