|
S.C. Statehouse
Report
Sunday, June 11, 2006
VIEW: http://www.statehousereport.com/columns/06.0611.proptax.htm
Little
guys to get burden of property tax reform
By
Andy Brack
Publisher
SC Statehouse Report
 JUNE
11, 2006 - - If you wonder what you're going to do with your
big legislature-approved property tax cut next year, don't
start spending it.
Why? Because the people who most will benefit from the cut,
which still has a couple of hurdles to get past before going
into effect, tend to be those who make a healthy income and
live in a big house.
For everybody else - - the majority of South Carolinians
- - property tax reform means you'll pay more overall in taxes,
according to calculations by a respected state and local government
researcher at Clemson University's Strom Thurmond Institute.
"Because housing values in South Carolina are fairly
moderate compared to other parts of the country, the majority
of people are going to end up paying more in sales taxes than
they get in property tax relief because the value of their
home is not substantially above $100,000," said the Institute's
Ellen W. Saltzman. (Click here
to download Saltzman's study.)
If you think about what she's saying, it makes sense. In
the mid-1990s, the state passed property tax reform to provide
relief on school operating taxes to homeowners for the first
$100,000 on their homes. In other words, every South Carolinians
has been getting a property tax break - paid from state coffers
- for the last 10 years.
With this new property tax reform, property taxes for school
operating costs will be eliminated and replaced by an increase
in the sales tax by 1 percent, among other things. But the
original exemption stays in place. So if your home is assessed
at $100,000 or less, you won't qualify for any relief under
the new plan. Here are a couple of examples:
- In Beaufort County, a family in the middle that lives
in a house worth $81,325 and has an adjusted income of $32,530
will pay $189 more in taxes under the new plan. A Beaufort
family in the top 5 percent with an income of $172,000 and
a house worth $430,000 will save $861 in taxes.
- In Hampton County, where the school property tax rate
is high, the savings for the wealthy are more dramatic,
according to scenarios developed by Saltzman. The family
in the middle still would pay $189 more in taxes, but a
family in the top 5 percent would get a $3,970 tax break.
Bottom line: Under the new reform, the tax burden will shift
from the wealthiest South Carolinians to those at the bottom
- - from the top 20 percent to the bottom 80 percent.
"The beneficiary is the guy with the big house at the
beach, the big house in the mountains, the big house on the
river or the big house at the lake, or if you live in the
historic district of someplace like Beaufort or Charleston,"
said Rep. Thayer Rivers, the Jasper County Democrat who asked
Saltzman for the study. "The average South Carolina citizen
is going to pay more in taxes because the average South Carolinian
doesn't have a house in those locations.
"It's a classic case of the squeaky wheel getting the
grease," said Rivers, who admitted he voted for the plan
because it would send more money for education to Hampton
and Jasper counties. "The little guys get the taxes."
One of the biggest squeaky wheels, real estate businessman
Emerson Read Sr. of Charleston, lives in a King Street house
appraised at $1.13 million, according to current tax records.
Based on this, he'll get a tax break of at least $3,823.39
on school operating taxes, unless he plans to buy at least
$382,339 in consumer goods over a year.
|
FEEDBACK
POLICY
We
encourage your feedback. If you'd like to respond to
something in SC Statehouse Report, please
send us an e-mail. We reserve the right to edit for
length and clarity. One submission allowed per month.
Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint.
Please keep your comment to 250 words or less:
feedback@statehousereport.com
|
Read, who runs an organization called NoHomeTax.org,
says he'll probably get a tax break of about $5,000 due to
the planned changes, which can't take effect unless a constitutional
amendment passes in November.
At one point in a testy interview, he admitted people who
live in homes of $100,000 or less would end up paying more
in sales taxes and wouldn't get extra property tax relief.
But later he steadfastly denied lower-income people would
absorb the tax burden of the reform so people like him could
get a tax break. A single mother struggling to make ends meet,
for example, wouldn't pay more in taxes, he argued, because
increased collections in sales taxes would make up the difference
- particularly since (he claimed) tourists pay 40 percent
of sales taxes.
Hmmm. I'll side with the Clemson researcher on this one.
Andy Brack's new book of commentary, Bugging
the Palmettos, is available for $15.00. Click
here for more.
Recent commentary
6/11: Same-sex
marriage
Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
 The
best way to get South Carolina news is to augment your morning
paper and TV show with SC Clips, a daily executive
news summary compiled from more than 30 state newspaper and
TV sources. It's delivered every business day and is packed
with news of statewide impact, politics, business and more.
Subscriptions are affordable at $30 per month -- and less
for business subscribers. More: SC
Clips.
6/6: Column shows bias
To the editor:
I love your analysis (Commentary,
6/4) on the Republican candidates and the specifics
you offer on them. To bad you dont have specifics where your
favorite Democrats are concerned. I guess those campaign contributions
and connections still have an affect.[sic]
-- James A. Fleming, Bennettsville, S.C.
Recent
feedback
Here's a "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" related to various
political news items from the past week:
Thumbs
up
Oscar Lovelace. The Republican candidate for governor,
made the most of his opportunity on last Wednesday when Gov.
Mark Sanford, his opponent, refused to debate him on statewide
television and on streaming video on any home computer. Lovelace
held his own by himself and took Sanford to task for not being
a capable leader. Separately, Sanford was being endorsed by
the S.C. Sierra Club because he is "far superior to any
other candidate in protecting the quality of life in our state."
Pay your money and take your choice.
Rep. Becky Martin. The Anderson Republican, speaking
at a legislative debate against two opponents, pointed out
she supported Sanford in 2002 for governor, but, she said,
"[The governor] listens but he doesn't react. Last year,
we passed [in the House] 14 of the 16 bills [he] wanted, but
he takes it out on all [of the Legislature].'' She spoke her
mind when she could have been quiet.
Thumbs
down
Travelers. A new way to trim the federal budget is
suggested by a new study from the Washington-based Center
for Public Integrity, Medill News Service and American Public
Media. In 2000 to 2005, South Carolina members of Congress
and their staffs took $840,000 worth of free travel that was
paid for by private interests. Rep. Henry Brown, R-Hanahan,
and staff accounted for 12 free trips costing $11,400, while
Rep. James Clyburn, D-Columbia, and staff accounted for 89
trips and $222,300. None of the others seeking re-nomination
this year took any trips. If Clyburn and Brown had stayed
at home and worked …
Money in politics. Already in this political year,
South Carolina candidates for all offices have spent $19.3
million, only $300,000 short of the amount spent in the 2002
election cycle. And the primaries aren't even quite here,
with the general election still six months away. If the state
doesn't set a record, all the candidates will have to stop
buying billboards (or accepting them free), television and
radio commercials and newspaper advertisements. And you know
that will not happen. [From "Political fund raising
on road to record," The Greenville News, June 5, by Dan
Hoover.]
Sanford. Thumbs down to the governor for yet another
patently political public relations stunt -- hitting the road
to whine about the state budget and the fact that lawmakers
wouldn't let him issue vetoes before primary election day.
Also, the governor gets a Bronx Cheer for his unwillingness
to debate Lovelace. Wonder if he's worried about somebody
criticizing his record?
How you can subscribe to the full edition
of the report
The above version of S.C. Statehouse Report is the
free edition. Our paid version, which costs about $100 per
month, offer a weekly legislative forecast packed with information
that can keep you and your business on the cutting edge.
Notes veteran lawmaker Sen. Glenn McConnell: "Statehouse
Report gives an inside practical report of weekly problems
with and progress of legislation. It reviews the whole landscape."
In each issue of Statehouse Report, you'll get:
- Hot issue
-- an early peek at weekly commentary on something really
big. Last year, we continually beat other news organizations
in finding major trends in issues, from teacher and budget
cuts to wetlands proposals.
- Agenda -- a weekly forecast of
the coming week's floor agenda
- Radar Screen -- a behind-the-scenes
look at what's really going on in the General Assembly
- McLemore's World -- an early view
of our respected cartoonist Bill McLemore.
- Tally Sheet -- a weekly review
of all of the new bills introduced in the legislature in
everyday language
- Blogroll -- a weekly summary of
the best of South Carolina political blogs.
- Scorecard -- A Thumbs Up and Thumbs
Down of major political/policy events for the week.
- Calendar -- a weekly list of major
meetings for the House, Senate and state agencies.
- Megaphone -- a quote of the week
that you'll find illuminating.
To learn more about subscriptions, contact Andy Brack at:
brack@statehousereport.com
South Carolina Statehouse Report
Publisher: Andy Brack
Editor:
Jerry Ausband
Assistant
Editor: Betsy Brack
Phone: 843.670.3996 · Fax: 843.722.9887
Subscription or sponsorship Inquiries: info@statehousereport.com
Have an event for the SC Statehouse Report calendar?
E-mail details to: news@statehousereport.com
or fax to above number.
|
