COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)
- The property tax plan that won final approval in
the House on Thursday is irresponsible and will
face changes in the Senate, key lawmakers said.
The House plan, estimated to cost the state
nearly $117 million its first year, will be
replaced with a version that doesn't create a
deficit, senators said.
"I'm not going to vote for a plan thrown out of
whack by $100 million," said Sen. Larry Martin,
R-Pickens. "I don't think that's responsible to do
something like that."
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston,
called the senators' comments rhetoric, and
pointed to what the General Assembly approved a
decade ago.
"In 1995, they all voted for $195 million of
fiscal impact for property tax relief," he said.
"This package is a lot smaller than that. It's
hard for them to say it's irresponsible if they
voted for something even bigger."
The House plan would put two property tax
questions on the ballot in November, change the
state's property tax system and limit government
spending. The measures would cut most property
taxes from owner-occupied homes and eliminate the
sales tax on groceries by increasing the state
sales tax from 5 cents to 7 cents.
But one of the many changes made during nearly
10 hours of debate Wednesday put the tax swap plan
off balance by $116.8 million, according to state
chief economist Bill Gillespie, who ran the
numbers just before a 10:30 p.m. vote.
A complete economic impact statement was still
in the works Thursday.
"I really believe they're just saying, 'Let's
get this off our plate. It doesn't matter what it
says as long as it says property tax relief,'"
said Senate Minority Leader John Land, D-Manning.
"The Senate will handle it."
Lawmakers openly speculated on whether the two
chambers can reach compromise in a year when House
members face the pressure of election and senators
don't.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell,
R-Charleston, said he personally loves the idea of
removing all of local governments' operating costs
from owner-occupied homes.
"We just don't have the support in the Senate
to get it done, not that version," he said. "It's
getting into micromanaging local budgets again.
... And where's all the money going to come from?"
Senators want to focus on school operating
costs - an idea that failed repeatedly during
House debate - while reducing the sales tax on
groceries and cutting car taxes.
As for reassessment, the House wants to freeze
property values and reassess only when property is
sold or improved. Senators rejected that approach
in subcommittee meetings.
The Senate will take up its proposal Tuesday in
which voters would choose between keeping the
current reassessment system or setting a 15
percent cap on how much property values can go up
every five years.
Unlike the House, the Senate will pass parts of
its plan separately.
The House tax substitution plan heads to a
Senate subcommittee led by Sen. Hugh Leatherman,
R-Florence. He said his group will get started
within a couple weeks and hold public hearings
before crafting its version. He gave no timetable
for getting it done.
"Until we get it right," Leatherman said. "I
guarantee it will not be out of balance. ...
That's just not the way to do things."
Gov. Mark Sanford praised the House action as a
step toward property tax relief. Spokesman Joel
Sawyer said the off-balance figure represents a
tax cut to residents.
"We don't believe letting taxpayers keep more
of their own money constitutes spending," he said.
