The board of directors of the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) sent the following communication in regard to state infrastructure needs and the Local Government Fund to Governor Nikki Haley and members of the South Carolina General Assembly:

The South Carolina Association of Counties completed its legislative policy development process for the 2015 legislative session on Dec. 5. Although a complete publication containing our policy positions is forthcoming, it is imperative SCAC address two issues prior to the convening of the 121st General Assembly. The significance of state infrastructure needs and the Local Government Fund to the people of South Carolina cannot be overstated, and we believe must be resolved in a way that benefits our citizenry, and not in a manner that merely represents delay or expediency.

Read the full article by clicking the link below:

http://www.moultrienews.com/article/20141230/MN01/141239977/1014/association-of-counties-addresses-general-assembly

Winner: Crumbling roads

South Carolina’s interstate system is more than 50 years old.

South Carolina’s 16.75 cent-a-gallon gas tax – much lower than Georgia and North Carolina’s – has not increased in 27 years.

While finding some new money for roads every now and then, the state has failed to come up with a long-term solution to its crumbling roads, filled with cracks and pot holes.

South Carolina has the 4th largest state-maintained highway system in the country with less than 30 percent of traffic riding on good pavement.

Bills to increase the gas tax or other taxes to pay for roads failed this year, and Gov. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, has said she will veto any tax increase.

Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, formed a special panel chaired by state Rep. Gary Simrill, R-York, to reform the Transportation Department and find a solution to the $43 billion (that’s “billion” with a “b”) deficit the Transportation Department says it has through 2040 to repair and expand the roads.

Simrill has suggested giving some roads and money to maintain them to counties. But county officials oppose that idea, noting the Legislature has not fulfilled other promises to local governments in recent years.

Senators also have pre-filed legislation to deal with the roads.

Starting next year, York County officials will be on the hunt for homeowners who aren’t at home. The county assessor’s office will take bids next month for a countywide audit of its property tax receipts to identify any homes receiving the owner-occupied discount when in fact the owner does not live in the house. Second homes or rental properties have to pay a heftier tax bill than homes where the owner is living full time.

Assessor Teresa Simmons said an auditing firm will be able to cross-check homeowners’ listed primary residence against voter registration, real estate records, and car tax and driver’s license information, whether inside or outside of South Carolina, to find out where a taxpayer is really staying.

Several counties have done similar legal residence audits in recent years. The issue of unoccupied homes most often comes up in coastal areas with a lot of vacation property or counties with military installations where service members may be deployed for long periods of time. But anywhere a property owner keeps a second home, state law requires him or her to pay a higher tax rate, as much as three times what an owner-occupier would pay.

In Rock Hill, for example, a homeowner living in a $250,000 home would owe $2,100 in local property taxes. The tax bill increases to $5,725 if the owner is not using the house as a primary residence.

If the audit uncovers a home claiming the exemption is not owner-occupied, depending on how long the homeowner has claimed the exception, York County could revise owner’s bill and claim back taxes for up to three years prior to the home being ruled ineligible for the exemption.

Some of those claiming the exemption may have made an honest mistake or there’s some error in the tax records, Simmons said. If the assessor’s office wasn’t notified of a death, for example, the office might collect a lower tax on the home of a deceased person unless the deed is changed in probate court.

Others are more deliberate in claiming a tax exemption on two different houses, especially if they own a home out of state. A homeowner may claim an exemption on a home in South Carolina, Simmons said, but auditors find their vehicle is registered in another state with a lower or no car tax.

“You may have a home here in York County under your name, and a home in your wife’s name somewhere else,” the assessor said. “So these auditing firms have ways of searching for people you’re associated with.”

For now, the York County assessor’s office mostly relies on neighbors or homeowners associations to report suspected abuses. But in nine other South Carolina counties that have performed similar residency audits, Simmons estimates local governments have reaped between $355,000 and $3.1 million in additional revenue.

Any extra revenue generated by the audit will likely benefit York County’s four school districts, which are prohibited by South Carolina’s Act 388 from taxing owner-occupied homes for school operations costs, but can tax rental and vacation properties.

On December 16, 2014, the Senate passed H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, by a vote of 76-16. South Carolina REALTORS® (SCR) applaud Congressional leaders in both chambers for their effort to pass the legislation prior to adjournment.

The bill includes a one-year extension of several expired tax provisions that benefit homeowners, including tax relief for mortgage debt forgiveness. The Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act prevents underwater borrowers from paying taxes on any mortgage debt forgiven or cancelled by a lender in a workout or after their home was sold for less money than was owed.

The legislation also includes one-year extensions of the 15-year depreciation schedule for leasehold improvements and the deduction for improvements to energy efficient commercial buildings. “Realtors have worked hard to ensure Quality of Life for all, by championing these key real estate tax provisions.

We are thankful for the bipartisanship of the legislators and look forward to the bill being signed into law,” said SCR CEO Nick Kremydas. The House passed the bill on December 3. It now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into law.

– See more at: http://www.realestaterama.com/2014/12/22/south-carolina-realtors%C2%AE-applaud-final-passage-of-legislation-extending-key-real-estate-tax-provisions-ID025542.html#sthash.GDCF9ZyM.dpuf

As S.C. lawmakers are working to come up with a solution to repair South Carolina’s crumbling roads, a record number of Palmetto State residents will be driving during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

North Carolina officials want to close the gap with South Carolina and other states that offer larger incentive packages and lower tax rates to lure companies – sometimes causing Charlotte to miss out on hundreds of jobs.

One prefiled bill by the SC House of Representatives would raise the current $300 sales tax cap on vehicles up to $750, with the additional money going.

Another bill prefiled by Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Chapin, would use any new money collected from Internet sales for state roads and bridges. He thinks it’s just a matter of time before the U.S. Congress passes a law requiring states to collect the sales tax on things people buy online.

He says, “How can we vote to raise a gas tax before we consider other alternatives? It’s my opinion, and others at the national level, that Congress will approve their bill next session and SC needs to be ready to pass along more than $100 million to our roads that does not involve a new tax or any tax hike.”

For the full story click the link below.

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/12/18/sc-lawmakers-looking-at-several-options-to-pay-for-roads/20613525/

Education is one of the few bipartisan issues that SC Legislators can agree on. There are several different plans that would address the states public education system.One bill sponsored by: Reps. Horne, M.S. McLeod, Brannon, J.E. Smith and Skelton is entitled “The S.C. Jobs, Education and Tax Act” (SCJET).

The legislation is  supposed to generate revenue for schools in two ways: by rolling up more than 70 existing school funding sources into a single funding stream and by establishing a uniform statewide 100-mill levy. Revenue would be distributed to schools on a per-pupil basis (estimated at more than $5,400 per student), with weightings for factors such as grade level, poverty, gifted and talented, and special needs. The uniform millage rate is not an added levy, but supports the local district levy for school operations.

SCJET is not fully self-funding. To maintain state commitments in prosperous communities and increase funding in poor communities, the Legislature will need a balance of $600 million, with additional money required for the transition to a new system.

For the full article click the article below.

http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/12/10/3480476/sc-needs-a-new-plan-for-road-improvements.html?sp=/99/342/

The issue of road improvement is one that is a large issue in this coming years legislative session. A new projection by a S.C. commission predicts the state will need to spend another $60 billion during the next 25 years on its roads. And the state lacks the money to do it. The plan, just released by the S.C. Transportation Commission, puts state revenue projections at only $28 billion during that period, meaning South Carolina will be about $1.5 billion short each year of meeting its road needs.

Two lawmakers are proposing separate fixes to different parts of the state’s crumbling road system, one to address the state’s local roads and the other to widen and improve South Carolina’s interstates.

Sen. Nikki Setzler, leader of Senate Democrats is proposing legislation that would build an interstate improvement fund by taking money form car sales tax while leveraging it with revenue bonds to collect an estimated $590 million dollars a year for existing interstate expansion and improvements.

Republican Rep. Tommy Stringer, of Greenville is proposing two different bills to fix the states road system. First he wants to transfer 21,000 miles of secondary and local roadways to county and local governments. And his second bill would raise the states gas tax and use that increase of 5 cent increase to help pay for the roadway improvements.

For more on this story please click the link below:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/02/lawmakers-propose-different-fixes-states-roads/19787511/