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COLUMBIA - Bills that would change the property reassessment system and swap
property taxes for increased sales taxes took a step forward Tuesday in the
Statehouse.
A House subcommittee passed the two bills 4-1 after hearing from lobbyists,
lawmakers and taxpayers.
The proposals now head to the full Ways and Means Committee, which meets
next week. Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken, cast the lone no vote.
One bill would remove school, city and county operating costs off the
property tax bills of owner- occupied homes, leaving only local government
debt, in exchange for a 2-cents-on-the-dollar sales tax increase. It also
would eliminate sales tax on groceries. It seeks to switch reassessment to a
so-called point-of-sale system, in which property would be reassessed only
when sold or significantly improved.
A reassessment change requires amending the state constitution, which the
other bill addresses. Residents would vote on whether they want the new
reassessment system in the next general election.
The leaders of anti-property-tax groups told the subcommittee they expect
results this election year.
"Taxpayers have watched property taxes escalate beyond reason. Elected
officials owe us a resolution now," said Dan Harvell, chairman of the
Anderson County Taxpayers Association.
He said taxpayers are outmanned and outspent by large associations and their
lobbyists.
Representatives for the state Association of Counties, state School Boards
Association and state Association of School Administrators expressed their
concerns about the bill.
Tim Winslow, an attorney with the county association, said counties should
have the option of adopting point-of-sale or some other reassessment system
- a proposal more in line with what the state Senate's working on.
Anti-tax groups oppose giving counties a choice.
"Citizens want taxes off their homes. They've suffered long enough," said
Emerson Read, a Charleston resident and statewide chairman of NoHomeTax.org.
Two Republican representatives that weren't on subcommittee spoke out
against the proposals.
"When the dust settles, I think we're hurting more people than we help,"
said Aiken Rep. Skipper Perry. Taking away local governments' taxing ability
means 46 counties, 85 school districts and every municipality will be coming
to the General Assembly every budget season seeking money, he said, adding
he doesn't want to "baby-sit" them.
Six Mile Rep. B.R. Skelton said owner-occupied homes, which account for 40
percent of the state's tax base and pay 20 percent of the taxes, should not
be "subsidized" any more. He called it a misconception that owner-occupied
homes are overtaxed.
Skelton said the proposals shift the tax burden "away from the affluent to
the less affluent, renters and businesses." He said he agrees the
reassessment system needs fixed but not this way.
"It's good politics to consider this bill the way it's written," Skelton
said. "It's absolutely bad policy."
The state Chamber of Commerce also opposes the proposals, fearing a tax
shift to businesses could make South Carolina less competitive.
"Multinational and multistate corporations can decide not to come here,"
Otis Rawl, a lobbyist for the state Chamber of Commerce, said last week.
"All of a sudden, businesses that may have been looking at us may say, 'Do
we need to look at South Carolina any more?' "
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