January 12, 1998

Columbia  --  Monday morning, Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler and a group of Republican lawmakers unveiled a new legislative plan, Stop Taxing Our Property (STOP), to completely eliminate car taxes. The STOP package proposes the elimination of almost $700 million in taxes on all personal property over the next seven years. If enacted, it would comprise by far the largest tax cut in the history of South Carolina.

Said Peeler, "I"ve heard about car taxes from South Carolinians through correspondence, over the phone, at civic events, in my local grocery store, and even once through the drive in lane of a Hardees. There isn't a whole lot of diversity of opinion on the subject. For old and young, male and female, the car tax is unquestionably the most universally reviled tax in South Carolina today."

The lieutenant governor noted that South Carolina has the third highest auto taxes in the country, ahead of states infamous for their extraordinarily high taxes like Illinois, Hawaii, New York and Massachusetts. The proposed plan would not only abolish car taxes, but all taxes on light trucks, boats, and commercial vehicles.

The STOP plan Peeler and lawmakers are offering consists of three main elements. First, $25 million would be included within the 1998-99 state budget to begin tax relief. The second part of the package would dedicate 30% of new growth in the state budget each year to personal property tax relief. Lastly, a joint resolution would give South Carolina voters the chance to amend the state constitution and freeze the amount of money local governments collect from the personal property tax at 1998 levels.

Representative Rick Quinn (R-Richland) will sponsor the STOP plan in the House and Senators John Courson (R-Richland) and Joe Wilson (R-Lexington) will introduce similar legislation in the state Senate.

"In researching this issue, we discovered that very few states use the property tax as a major source of revenue. And there"s a good reason for that," said Senator John Courson. "The property tax is a very bad idea. It makes no sense for a government interested in growth to place an assessment on the personal property of its citizens. The result of that type of tax is to punish investment, to penalize ownership and to discourage people from acquiring property."

Rep. Rick Quinn highlighted the practical positives of the new plan. "The STOP plan will bring less government and more freedom to South Carolina. Based on BEA projections, the citizens of South Carolina can expect an annual cut in personal property taxes of about 13.5% on average until personal property taxes are completely gone. If we are successful, our plan will allow the families of South Carolina to recapture almost $700 million of their own money."

The lawmakers noted that state spending has grown from $2.6 billion to over $4.5 billion in the last ten years alone. Each pointed out that under the STOP plan, the vast majority of new state revenues would still be available for items like education and infrastructure. They also emphasized that the constitutional freeze would apply only to personal property collection. Other forms of property tax for local governments would remain untouched.

"Based on the very successful residential property tax reduction of now almost a quarter of a billion dollars annually, the state budget can be adjusted to the reductions in spending without affecting services. In the past twelve fiscal years, there has always been an increase in the total budgeted funds ranging from $225 million to $821 million annually," noted Senator Joe Wilson.

"There are naysayers who are bound by rigid dogma and ironclad ideology. They opposed the property tax relief which restored trust in government," continued Wilson. "I believe the choice is very clear: either the government should overly tax and determine people's lives or the people keep their hard earned income and make their own individual choices for their children."

State lawmakers have the next six months to consider the STOP plan. Already additional legislative sponsors are lining up behind the package and several key tax protest groups are backing the plan.

Concluded Peeler, "There will always be those who look for reasons why we can't have tax relief, but the fact is the STOP plan shows that we can. If enacted, it will shut the door, wipe the floor, and drive a stake through the heart of the car tax once and for all. I think that's what the people of South Carolina want. And that's what we're going to try to give them."