For Immediate Release Contact: Luke Byars

February 10, 2000 803 734 2080

Columbia-- Lt. Governor Bob Peeler called on the Governor and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) to work with local governments and issue refunds to those taxpayers that are affected by the errors on this year’s SCDOR assessment guides. The Lt. Governor was accompanied by Senators Joe Wilson and John Courson all of which are leading in an effort to provide meaningful car tax relief in South Carolina. Their plan, The Compact for Car Tax Relief, would cut car taxes on all cars and trucks by 70%.

Said Peeler, "This is just not fair to taxpayers or the local officials who are required to use these State guides. It is time for some answers. Apparently, the SCDOR has known about these mistakes for quite some time, my question is when were they planning on notifying the public? This illustrates another reason why we really need meaningful car tax relief in South Carolina."

Today’s edition of The State newspaper reports that potentially 450,000 car tax bills might be affected this year and up to 15% of the tax bills statewide were too high in January in February. The SCDOR provides State Assessment guides which local governments are required to use in the calculation of car tax bills.

Senator John Courson said, "These errors add to the second highest car taxes in the nation. We need to ensure that our local governments are given the right information the first time. This is potentially disastrous to almost a half a million families in our state."

"Today, I will unveil a plan to ensure that every overcharged taxpayer receives a full and complete refund with interest. It is time for the State to step up to the plate and correct this mistake," said Senator Joe Wilson.