CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston County property owners charged too much under a tax cap that has been declared illegal may file for refunds with the county assessor, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

And the high court, ruling Monday, also ordered the county to contact all property owners who may have been overcharged about their right to a refund.

The Supreme Court had earlier ruled the tax cap for owner-occupied homes illegal. On Monday, the court issued a ruling on how the county should compensate taxpayers who paid too much.

The 3-2 ruling criticized the county for "placing obstacles in the way of its wronged taxpayers" and "expending more taxpayer money fighting the refund-seekers on every front."

A year ago, a circuit judge gave the county two months to issue refunds, which would have ranged from just pennies to tens of thousands of dollars.

But the Supreme Court, in its ruling Monday, reversed that, noting there are administrative means to provide the refunds.

The dissenting justices suggested a fairer approach would be to recalculate all 2001 tax bills. It noted that paying refunds would mean that money would be a liability in a future budget and taxpayers would end up being taxed to pay for their own refunds.

County officials were still reviewing the ruling and it was expected to be discussed at Tuesday night's council meeting.

Three years ago, the County Council approved a 15 percent reassessment cap that limited the taxable increase in the value of owner-occupied homes.

The cap meant that homes that increased substantially in value in the 1990s, mostly homes in beach communities and downtown Charleston, received a tax break.

Since the increase in taxes on those homes was limited, all other homeowners and commercial property owners paid about $9.8 million more in taxes than they would have without the cap.

"I think that was a slap, a spank," said attorney Trenholm Walker, who represented taxpayers in a lawsuit asking the courts to distribute the money. "It's a definite victory for the taxpayers."

Exactly how the county will make the refunds has not been determined, said county spokeswoman Jamie Thomas.

"To the degree we made errors, we're going to own up to those and make them right," said Councilman Leon Stavrinakis.

The tax cap had been found illegal both in Circuit Court and then, on appeal, in the state Supreme Court.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net/