Senate should enable local governments to raise their own revenue rather than restrict them

Counties and municipal governments in South Carolina are already having a hard time generating the budgets they need to pay for the services they provide.

They are looking to cut services, consolidate services or use alternative forms of revenue like road service fees and additional landfills to fund local government.

But their revenue situation isn't hard enough yet for the state Senate. A Senate subcommittee approved a constitutional amendment last week that would cap local taxes, allowing them to rise only as far as the state's personal income levels rise.

Most taxpayers might be prepared to cheer such a move. They may want to see city and county councils unable to raise taxes. But this is not the direction needed from the General Assembly. It should also be noted that lawmakers have rejected proposals to put such a cap on their own taxing and spending.

Much of the reason that taxpayers are fed up with property taxes is because of the piecemeal relief and reform elements passed in Columbia.

Lawmakers respond to taxpayer anger with quick solutions that provide the appearance of relief but have unintended consequences.

From homeowners' property tax relief to vehicle property tax referendums to economic development incentives, the General Assembly has passed a myriad of tax measures that have made the state's tax system unstable and unfair. It has shifted the burden of property taxes from industry to homeowners and small businesses.

Now, when voters are angry about rising property taxes, lawmakers want to blame local officials and prohibit them from raising the revenue they need to fund local governments.

The failure to do right by taxpayers is not on the local level. It is in the Statehouse.

But lawmakers have learned nothing. In fact, they're ready to do it again. They are working on measures that would replace a portion of the property tax revenue with an increase in the state sales tax. And they would limit local government as part of the package.

This is another piecemeal measure that will affect the rest of the state tax system. Lawmakers need to revise that entire system. They need to create a new tax code that evenly distributes the burden of funding state and local government.

And they need to give local governments more rather than less flexibility. They need to give cities and counties more options besides the property tax to raise their own revenue.

It's easy for senators to blame local officials and appeal to voters in an election year with a cap on local taxes. It's much easier than admitting the General Assembly's failures and doing the hard work of reforming the state tax system. Senators are taking the easy, politically motivated course.