OAR 123-674-5200: Mechanical, Personal and Unqualified Property

For purposes of enterprise zone property to be exempt under ORS 285C.170 or 285C.175: (1) Real property machinery & equipment or personal property may qualify despite prior usage outside the zone, such that the exempt value is based on the usual factors of appraisal, such as age, deterioration and obsolescence, as well as any reconditioning, refurbishment or restoration. (2) Except in the case of OAR 123-674-5300(5): (a) Personal property or real property machinery & equipment must be: (A) Newly owned or leased by the authorized business firm; or (B) Newly brought into the county containing the site of the property inside the zone. (b) For purposes of this section, “newly” means that the property is not both acquired by the firm and located in the county before the earlier of: (A) Six months prior to Application; or (B) January 1 of the year preceding its first exemption year under ORS 285C.175. (c) Newly acquired or relocated property that conforms to this section might even be used in the county outside the enterprise zone, before it is placed in service and subsequently exempted in the zone, subject to compliance with other applicable provisions, and provided that it is not subsequently assessed at any location outside the zone. (3) An item of personal property with a cost of less than $50,000 qualifies for the exemption only if used: (a) Exclusively in the production of tangible goods, which by itself will usually preclude furniture or decorations and most communication, office, video or comparable devices; (b) In electronic commerce within a so-designated area as described in OAR 123-662; or (c) In North Plains for semiconductor-related operations described in OAR 123-662-1200(3)(b)(B). (4) Subsection (3)(a) of this rule with respect to tangible goods production also covers personal property items of machinery & equipment: (a) Even if the tangible good in question is not actually created or manufactured from raw inputs, but is instead modified, processed, restored, repaired, measured, sized, imprinted, packaged, conveyed, shipped or comparably affected in a physical manner. (b) That maintain, calibrate, adjust, monitor, test or fix qualified property directly involved with tangible output or production, or that assure quality control of tangible output or production, including but not limited to research and development equipment incorporated into production activities. (5) For purposes of qualification, the following are equivalent to newly installing personal property or real property machinery & equipment after making Application: (a) Connection or attachment to existing machinery & equipment of an item that is separately assessed in its own right; or (b) Comprehensive rebuilding in place of what effectively constitutes a new item for valuation or assessment as distinct from modification. (6) Regardless of any other provision of this division of administrative rules, the following property does not qualify for the exemption: (a) Land or improvements to raw land, such as site preparation. (b) Any item of personal property with a cost of less than $1,000. (c) Fuel, lubricants and other non-inventory supplies. (d) Any machinery, equipment or device that can roam freely by its own motive power under the control of an operator/driver, including but not limited to forklifts. (e) Any other similarly self-propelled motorized vehicle, including by remote control. (f) Any device or item that is pulled, pushed or carried by a vehicle and designed to hold and transport people, goods or property on highways, waterways or railways beyond the zone boundaries, including but not limited to trailers, rolling stock, barges, carriages or railroad cars.