Horry County wants to postpone the countywide property reassessment for one year, a move that would give home and business owners with the most dramatic increases a one-year reprieve from higher taxes.

Officials say the state's move to cap reassessment increases and a lawsuit against Myrtle Beach have convinced them there is too much risk in proceeding with reassessment this year. The County Council gave initial approval to the delay Tuesday. Two more votes are needed.

A law passed by state lawmakers and awaiting Gov. Mark Sanford's signature would limit reassessment increases at 20 percent. If the county goes ahead with reassessment and Sanford approves the bill, the county ultimately would have to give back about $3.8 million to owners of affected property and be faced with a shortfall.

Also, an expected S.C. Supreme Court ruling on a case against Myrtle Beach could force the city and the county to change the way they calculate reassessment tax rates.

Horry County officials said there was simply too much risk to go ahead with reassessment this year. New property-value notices will go out next year, in time for the 2005-06 budget year.

"By that time, the Supreme Court will have ruled and the governor will have signed," said County Attorney John Weaver.

During reassessment years, governments must roll back their tax rates to offset the increases in property values. That ensures that most property owners see little change in their overall tax burden.

However, owners of property that spiked in value would see a subsequent spike in taxes during a reassessment year. Horry County's property values as a whole went up 17 percent, according to reassessment figures.

The proposed reassessment cap would affect roughly 25 percent of Horry County property owners, according to assessor Rendel Mincey. Without the added revenue from those properties, officials say they would have no choice but to charge other taxpayers nearly $4 million more.

Horry County Council opposed the bill in a resolution sent to Sanford. Most on the council said the bill is an attack on local government's ability to collect taxes and an unfair redistribution of the tax burden.

Also, the Supreme Court could further complicate reassessment tax rates by its anticipated ruling in a case filed against Myrtle Beach by former County Administrator Linda Angus.

The city, the county and most other governments base reassessment-year tax rates in part on the amount of taxes they actually collect. Myrtle Beach typically collects about 92 percent of the taxes it bills.

But Angus argues the policy amounts to a tax increase by charging residents more to make up for uncollected taxes. The Supreme Court has yet to rule, but justices have sharply criticized the policy.

If local governments went ahead with reassessment and used the collection-rate method, officials worry they might be doing so against the wishes of the Supreme Court.

"For all these reasons, we figured it was best to put it off for a year," said County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland.

Reassessment is required every five years, and if a county delays the process by a year, it must hold the next reassessment in four years. Eight other S.C. counties currently are undergoing reassessment.

Both Horry County and Myrtle Beach passed new budgets Tuesday with the same property tax rates as last year. Budget details are not affected by the delay.

"The bottom line is going to be the same, one way or the other," said Myrtle Beach City Manager Tom Leath.