South Carolina golf course owners say they’re paying more than their fair share in property taxes, but some officials fear the proposed solution would shift a multimillion dollar burden to other taxpayers.

Golf course owners like a proposal in a bill now before a Senate finance panel that would set a formula tax assessors must use to determine what the state’s more than 300 golf courses are worth.

But coastal county tax assessors say the change amounts to a big tax cut for some golf courses — greater than 60 percent in some cases.

“It will erode the tax base,” said Beaufort County Assessor Bernice Wright. “It will not allow fair valuation.”

The bill would shift more than $7 million in taxes away from golf courses, leaving local officials to figure out how to make up for the lost revenue.

Golf course owners say they’re trying to protect the state’s multi-billion dollar tourism economy.

Golf courses are a huge part of the state’s tourism draw. Myrtle Beach has more per capita than anywhere in the nation, according to an industry group. Owners fear property taxes on top of the lagging economy will put them out of business.

“Nobody’s trying to gouge the public or anything,” said George Hilliard, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association. “This is a tax adjustment.”

Owners say tax assessors regularly overvalue property during reassessments.

As evidence, they point to recent reassessments in coastal counties in which several courses appealed their initial valuation and succeeded in getting their appraisals lowered.

By law, tax assessors determine a property’s fair market value. They use several methods. With golf courses, one of the most common methods is to base the appraisal on income generated by the property.

Charleston County Assessor Mike Huggins said the values can be off partly because golf courses often don’t provide enough information up front.

He agrees the valuation system could be improved. But, he said, the formula in the proposed bill — $500 per acre plus the course’s gross revenue times 1.2 — doesn’t solve the problem.

For one thing, $500 is a fraction of the cost per acre for prime coastal property, he said. A tract of prime land in Charleston can sell for well over $100,000 an acre, he said.

Second, he said, inland golf courses — where land is cheaper than on the coast — might see virtually no change in tax under the formula. But his analysis found that golf courses nearer the water could get up to a two-thirds tax break.

“There’s inequity even within the golf course community,” he said.

Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Beaufort, a bill co-sponsor, said he’s not sympathetic. Tax assessors are just trying to protect county revenue — not reform the system.

“The inconsistency county to county is causing a problem,” he said.

He added that in many golf course communities, where homes are built around courses, people feel they are being taxed twice because they pay on their homes and on the golf course.

Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, also a co-sponsor, said he hopes the bill starts a conversation that will result in a solution.

“There really needs to be a standard appraisal method as opposed to the hodgepodge there is now. This is a method to give (golf courses) stability so they won’t be taxed out of the market.”

Reach Talhelm at (803) 771-8339 or jtalhelm@thestate.com