The most important decision by the S.C.
General Assembly this year may be whether to raise state sales taxes by
40 percent in order to give some homeowners partial relief on property
taxes. The York County Regional Chamber of Commerce is performing an
important public service by staging a public session on the topic, and
it would behoove citizens to attend the event Monday evening at Baxter
Hood Center, on the campus of York Technical College.
The event, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will include a panel
discussion featuring experts on state and local government and taxation,
with time for questions from the news media and the public.
Normally, pending legislation of this magnitude would be debated for
weeks, if not months, with lawmakers receiving input from special
interest groups as well as from concerned constituents. In this case,
bills in both houses, which would raise the sales tax from 5 to 7 cents,
have been put on the fast track. Why the hurry? Legislators are reacting
-- some would say overreacting -- to appeals from homeowners who have
seen the assessed value of their homes jump dramatically following a
periodic state-mandated reassessment.
Such outcry has been limited in York County but likely will grow
after homeowners get their 2005 tax bills in December. Many of those who
will be hit the hardest by sticker shock, no doubt, will be owners of
waterfront property.
We urge citizens to come out Monday night and hear various
perspectives on these bills discussed. As an incentive, we would offer a
few reasons to be concerned:
• Local school districts can't keep up with growth now. Wiping out
local taxes for school operations would offer Charlotte families one
more reason to flee that troubled school system.
• As a "border" county, York County's retail base could suffer
because combined local and state sales taxes would exceed those levied
in Charlotte.
• South Carolina does not exempt government agencies from sales taxes
so cities such as Rock Hill and Fort Mill and educational institutions,
including York Tech and Winthrop University, would pay hundreds of
thousands of dollars more annually.
• Many homeowners would see no offsetting benefit from higher sales
taxes because, thanks to existing exemptions, they currently pay no
property taxes for school operations.
• All local businesses would be clobbered by the higher sales tax and
would have to pass along that expense to customers.
There are other reasons why we think jacking up sales taxes as a
trade-off for lower home taxes is a bad idea, but make up your own mind
by obtaining all the information you can. Attending the Chamber's public
forum Monday night is a good place to begin.
