Posted on Wed, May. 03, 2006

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Property tax plan stalls amid Senate bickering

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

COLUMBIA - In five hours of contentious debate that sometimes saw senators yelling at each other, the Senate failed again Tuesday to find a property tax plan members can agree on.

Debate grew so heated at times that when Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Camden, wanted to ask a question, he tested the waters first.

"Promise you won't yell at me?" he asked Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, who was proposing a statewide property tax.

The Senate is working over a House bill that provides property tax relief on owner-occupied homes with 2 cents more sales tax, but most Senators don't like that plan.

The House plan replaces city, county and school taxes, but senators don't want to get involved in redistributing city and county tax funds.

Most senators agree that it is a state responsibility to pay for education, and they can substitute sales tax for property taxes on schools.

But they can't agree how or for how much.

For most of Tuesday afternoon, the Senate debated a proposal from Grooms that would impose a 75-mill statewide property tax to pay for school operations. It also called for an additional 2 cents sales tax by local option.

Some senators were concerned about imposing a statewide property tax, something South Carolina has never done.

"Isn't that an increase? A tax increase?" Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, asked Grooms.

He and Grooms shouted at each other a few times with Grooms saying the statewide property tax would replace another tax so it is not an increase.

Grooms and Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, argued vigorously over that part of the plan, often raising their voices with each other.

Knotts said that other than a new tax, the risk in Grooms' plan is that legislators can raise it any time.

"My amendment is meaningful, lasting property tax relief," Grooms said. "We have final property tax relief with this."

"This concept was simply never on the table anywhere," said Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville. "It blows my mind."

Thomas said the proposal is too complex, its effects are unknown and it needed to be sent to a committee for study.

Thomas backs the House plan, which is similar to one he has proposed for the past four years.

"You're derailing the tax reform issue by what you're doing," Thomas told Grooms.

A motion to table Grooms' plan failed 19-20.

Then Knotts took the floor saying he would talk as long as necessary to defeat Grooms' plan.

Later, another tabling vote was called and the Grooms plan was defeated 22-19.

Knotts then sought approval for a plan similar to the House bill, but covering only school operating taxes, which produced more loud arguing. Knotts' proposal was tabled 22-19.

Debate starts today at 10 a.m.