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COLUMBIA - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer cast a rare and deciding vote in the Senate
on Tuesday that kept alive the House-approved plan to eliminate the bulk of
home property taxes.
The vote came after a fatiguing, day-long debate that showed for a second
straight week the higher chamber is still deadlocked about the best way to
curtail rising tax bills.
Late in the evening, Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, forced senators to
make up their minds on the property tax relief plan passed earlier this
session by the House. That measure would increase the state sales tax 2
cents on the dollar in order to remove about 85 percent of the residential
property taxes.
Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, then made a procedural motion to kill that
version of the bill. With six senators absent, the chamber drew a 20-20
stalemate until Bauer, as the presiding officer in the Senate, cast a vote
to keep the bill alive.
"This is a true vote that shows the South Carolina Senate has struggled with
this issue," Knotts said.
A move to formally adopt the plan could come today, but its approval is
still uncertain.
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce opposes the House plan because it
shifts the tax burden to businesses. Chamber President Howard Hunter said
his group would lobby senators overnight.
"It was a little too close for comfort," he said.
Adjourning this legislative session without property tax relief is not an
option for the organizers of NoHomeTax.org, a Charleston-based taxpayers
group that is seeking the removal of all home taxes.
The group launched a $10,000 statewide radio campaign to help generate
support for tax relief.
The advertisements are scheduled to air every hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
for three days this week on AM radio stations in Columbia, Greenville and
WTMA in Charleston.
They feature a mock press conference with a reporter questioning a senator
who dismisses the idea that people want tax relief on their homes.
"Unless the voters scream bloody murder, or vote me out, this is a dead
issue," a faux senator says in the minute-long spot.
The group also launched a new campaign to raise money for elections. "We are
going to support politicians in their district who support tax relief," said
Emerson Read, a Charleston resident who serves as chairman of the group.
The ads and fundraising campaign came after senators spent three days last
week discussing the legislation with no resolution.
This week they began eliminating different options on the table, including a
proposal from Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau.
Grooms' plan would have removed most home taxes by increasing a number of
other taxes, eliminating some sales tax exemptions and imposing a statewide
property tax on everything but residences.
Even though nothing was approved yet, Senate leader Glenn McConnell,
R-Charleston, said the day's actions showed progress.
"I think there is a mood in this Senate to find some solution to the
problem," he said.
ON THE NET
Property tax radio ad transaction at www.nohometax.org.
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