They brought 'em to the dance only to become wallflowers.

Many in the organized tax relief movement in Greenville and around South Carolina believe that legislative committees wouldn't be considering property tax changes without the grass-roots pressure they've been applying.

Lawmakers may have heard the rumblings. After all, the 2006 election year for all 124 House members is fast approaching. But having taken up the cause, some tax protesters say the honorables have gone astray.

"They've had a profound impact," according to Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, a member of the Senate subcommittee that's worked on the issue since the summer.

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"I really believe we have made an impression," explains Joe Kress of the Dorchester County Taxpayers Association.

That was the easy part, relatively speaking. Many plans

An assortment of plans are being formulated by state House and Senate subcommittees, mostly built around swapping the school operations property tax for a 2-point hike in the state's existing 5 percent sales tax. One version would cut the sales tax on groceries. Nothing that's under serious consideration would end all property taxes.

That's not exactly what some tax relief advocates want.

They want it all, Martin said.

"We must get rid of property taxes!!!" SCNOTAX's Web site trumpets.

Pushing for relief are Zero Property Tax for South Carolina, the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers and their various county chapters.

But there isn't unanimity of opinion, something that may dilute the groups' efforts when push comes to shove next year.

"To say the least," said Don Weaver, president of the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers, perhaps the oldest and largest of the state's tax relief groups.

Ron Turner, president of We the People of South Carolina, calls the current proposals the "flimflam sales tax." Turner warns that what legislators are considering "does nothing to control (local) government spending," but is a cave-in to groups that would shift the tax burden from the haves to the have-nots. 'Total elimination'

To Dan Harvell, chairman of the Anderson County Taxpayers Association, the Senate subcommittee has "systematically moved away" from what most of the state's taxpayers want.

That is, he has said, the total elimination of property taxes for education, not just the operating account which is most of the tax levy, but the lesser portion that pays off bonds.

For example, the independent and highly active Dorchester County Taxpayers Association is among those in disagreement with SCAT's support for the more sweeping bill introduced last year by Sen. David Thomas, R-Fountain Inn.

Weaver says that despite other groups' good intentions, some tend to reach beyond what is politically possible. He acknowledges that the Thomas plan has little traction and while SCAT prefers a 3 percent hike, it would settle for 2 points, plus limits on future reassessments and government spending.

Thomas' Senate Bill 880, crafted in part by some tax relief boosters, would, in part, end all property taxes on owner-occupied homes, add 3 cents to the sales tax, lop 20 percent off taxes on rental and commercial property, and freeze assessments at current levels.

Proponents say it would put $1.5 billion back into taxpayers' pockets, although that doesn't allow for the additional sales tax they would pay. Too sweeping?

It goes too far, legislative opponents have said.

"It's too much to bite off, too many unanswered questions. We can't work it out when we get there," said Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head.

When the back-and-forth between Senate subcommittee members turned on Oct. 25 to including local government, most appeared spooked -- more like stunned -- at the billions involved. They quickly ordered a draft of more modest proposals.

Thomas isn't giving up.

"I'll still try to convince the members the focus needs to be on eliminating the property tax," he said, predicting further efforts before the full committees that will review the eventual product, and on the floor come January.

But are the state's consumers ready for 8 percent sales tax plus local add-ons of another 3 percent in some counties?

Yes, Thomas says, if they can be assured that local governments won't come back and reinitiate the property tax, they see it as a reasonable price to pay.

Some local government interests are wary of the "rush to grease the squeaking wheels," drastically altering how schools and, perhaps, cities, towns and counties, are funded. 'Disastrous impact'

Howard Duvall, executive director of the South Carolina Municipal Association, expects S.880 to again get short shrift in the Legislature.

Beyond that, Duvall says, it "would have a disastrous impact on home rule. We would be back to the time when the Legislature wrote the supply bill which was the county's operating budget, only this time they would also control municipal budgets."

Instead, the state's municipalities support targeted tax relief based on using the homestead exemption and keying it to those on fixed incomes and booming areas where property values are soaring. Or, Duvall says, a 1-cent local option sales tax.

But during committee hearings, legislators openly voiced disdain for local government's problems.

With Gov. Mark Sanford having backed off on his school vouchers plan, property tax relief is shaping up as the unquestioned premier issue of the 2006 session, the one that could impact every South Carolinian and governmental entity.