COLUMBIA - As the Senate's property tax debate begins this week, lawmakers acknowledge that opinions run the gamut and consensus has been hard to build.
"Some of these (ideas) sound great, but when you really run them through the mill and look at them real hard, some of them would be very difficult to implement," Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island, said.
It's Mr. Richardson's plan that got out of the Senate Finance Committee and so, technically, it is the proposal up for discussion.
The plan would raise the state sales tax one penny to 6 cents, in order to:
- Eliminate school operations costs from property tax bills on homes with values up to $300,000;
- Decrease car taxes;
- Create a "circuit breaker" to ensure that no homeowner would spend more than 5 percent of household income on property taxes.
Mr. Richardson's plan, though, could be scrapped within minutes on the Senate floor.
Senators anticipate several amendments that would propose another property tax plan entirely.
And Mr. Richardson's plan has little support even heading out to the floor.
The Finance Committee approved the measure 12-8, without the backing of Finance Committee Chair Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and property tax subcommittee leader Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill.
"Where did this (plan) come from if nobody likes it?" Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said.
The House already has passed a property tax plan that would raise the sales tax by 2 cents and eliminate most property taxes on owner-occupied homes. Some senators support a 2-cent increase.
Mr. Hayes and others support, at most, a half-cent increase.