COLUMBIA--A property tax relief package touted by
numerous taxpayer groups because of its sweeping reforms is dead in the water,
the chairmen of a Senate tax panel said Thursday.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman and Senate President Pro
Tem Glenn McConnell, who are leading a property tax subcommittee, said Senate
Bill 880 won't be the vehicle for property tax relief.
"S 880 has some good things in it, but it's really fraught with pitfalls,"
said Leatherman, R-Florence. "We don't want to do some kind of property tax
reform and hit a train wreck at the Supreme Court."
The Senate panel charged with addressing soaring property tax bills met for
two hours and narrowed the scope of possible reforms that could make it into the
final relief package.
Two proposals, including Senate Bill 880, were put on the table, and the
lawmakers asked tough questions that demonstrated neither plan was perfect.
The chairmen said the subcommittee clearly would need to start from scratch
with a complex bill that provides immediate relief to the hardest-hit homeowners
and long-term solutions through a constitutional amendment.
"I think this was a major hurdle that paves the way for our Oct. 25 meeting
to be decision day," said McConnell, R-Charleston.
Grass-roots taxpayer groups drafted Senate Bill 880, sponsored by Sen. David
Thomas, R-Greenville, as a way to abolish the current property tax system. It
calls for more drastic reforms than any other proposal on the table.
The components of the legislation include the elimination of home property
taxes in favor of a 3-cent sales tax increase; a 20 percent rate reduction for
non-primary residences and business properties; and a decrease from 5 cents to 2
cents in the sales tax on food.
The legislation also calls for constitutional change to freeze current tax
rates, abolish reassessment and require future increases to be approved by the
voters.
Dan Harvell, chairman of the Anderson County Taxpayers Association, said
homeowners want these extensive reforms.
Lawmakers' "intention may not be for (the relief package) to be as
far-reaching as S 880, but I believe once the grass-roots efforts get involved
across the state they might find it prudent to listen to the voters rather than
the lobbyists," said Harvell, a member of scnotax.com, one of the main groups
supporting Thomas' legislation.
The most likely facet to survive in the final product is a sales tax
increase, but McConnell said the elimination of property taxes is politically
and practically problematic.
A more palpable option is removing the portion of property taxes that funds
education, which still would provide relief for homeowners, he said.
Staff writer John Frank covers state politics and the Legislature from
Columbia. Contact him at jbfrank@postandcourier.com or (803)
799-9051.
