COLUMBIA - As lawmakers debate the specifics of how to supplant property taxes with increased sales taxes, a Columbia-based think tank urged the General Assembly to evaluate how the proposal would affect the state's long-term fiscal health.

A report released Friday by the Palmetto Institute recommends the General Assembly immediately create an independent commission to study any proposed laws that would affect the state's tax structure. The commission, made up of economic experts, should thoroughly assess the outcomes of any bill before it becomes law and causes fiscal problems in years to come, Palmetto Institute Chairman Darla Moore said.

The Palmetto Institute was founded to help raise the wealth of each South Carolina resident. It hired Clemson University's Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs to study the state tax and revenue system.

The institute said it was not taking a position on any specific tax proposal, but many points of the yearlong study went straight to lawmakers' plans to cut property taxes by increasing the state sales tax. The state House and Senate are both drafting bills to do so in the upcoming election year.

The House is drafting a bill that would take the operating costs of cities, counties and schools off homeowners' tax bills by raising the state sales tax by 2 cents, to 7 cents on the dollar.

Holley Ulbrich, a Strom Thurmond Institute senior fellow, said a 2-cent state sales tax increase would probably generate enough money to cover property taxes.

However, she said, sales taxes that are too high encourage people to shop elsewhere, either on the Internet, via catalog or in another state, which could hurt revenue growth. Twenty of South Carolina's 46 counties border either Georgia or North Carolina, Ulbrich said.

Moore said the state could raise revenue without raising the sales tax. Lawmakers need to review who gets sales tax exemptions and incentives. Some have existed for decades without review. Another possibility is raising the $300 sales tax cap on vehicles, she said.