Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vince Sheheen wants says the two major issues facing South Carolina are education and tax reform. And if elected he plans to tackle both issues during his first term in office. Sheheen wants to expand 4-year-old kindergarten statewide and increase taxpayer funding of public colleges in exchange for a cap in tuition costs. As a legislator, Sheheen has backed proposals to reform the way the state raises money for schools and to increase teacher pay. The average salary for teachers in S.C. in 2012-2013 was $47,900 Senator Sheheen want to gradually raise that amount to the national average of $56,400  according to the National Center on Education Statistics

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen said Tuesday that if elected, he would dedicate five percent of the state’s general fund within five years to the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

On Tuesday, the Camden state Senator released a road funding plan calling for no increase in the state’s gas tax but a dedicated stream of revenue and an infusion of borrowed money.

South Carolina’s roads, bridges and highways are among the least safe in the country, his campaign said in a statement. Sheheen said he would ask the Department of Transportation to better prioritize its maintenance plan, a “Fix-it-First” approach. He also called for up to $1 billion in new bonds to fix the biggest problem areas and a dedication of 5 percent of the state’s general fund budget for roads. This year, the state had a $7 billion general fund, which would have meant $350 million for roads.

“I think we can do it,” Sheheen said. “I don’t think it’s a partisan issue. It should be all of us working together to reach that goal.”

Sheheen’s plans resemble a road funding plan introduced by Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Charleston, several years ago. Grooms said he didn’t mind Sheheen touting the plan as his, as long as it becomes law.

For the full article please find it at postandpourier.com

Richland County will collect about $5 million on so called  hospitality tax.

Members of Richland County Council met Thursday regarding plans that could commit nearly $50 million dollars for new recreational attractions throughout the county. Among those new recreational options is a water park.

The water park would be located on county-owned land between Farrow Road and I-77. It would be one of the latest in a series of franchises operated by Dave Busch of Hawaiian Falls Waterparks.

On Thursday, the H-tax committee voted to earmark as much as $20 million in bonds for the water park.

A motion also passed Thursday, according to Monique McDaniels, to move the report forward to the Economic Development Committee to do more  research  about the water park.

While the county would not have to pay for operations for the water park, that would not be the case for another project on the list.

Council members are also looking at building at possibly building a nearly $16 million multi-sport arena in the Bluff and Atlas Roads area. Councilman Seth Rose has questions about that and other spending proposed for recreation facilities funded by hospitality money.

“Council’s playing with fire in allocating $60 million dollars without the due diligence required to make sure these things are going to be profitable,” Rose said.

There are other projects to be considered at some point as well including amphitheaters, walking trails, and a $12 million dollar pool and splash pad on Garners Ferry Road.

North Myrtle Beach has been suffering from low property values in recent years. As a result County Council has decided to increase property taxes. The tax increase was approved by council members Monday night.The increase would add an approximate $5 increase per every $100,000 worth of property owned. A former increased millage rate of 36 mills was passed on May 19, but the figure was readjusted at Mondays meeting. The Horry County auditor told the City that property values in North Myrtle Beach declined three-and-a-half percent, which caused the need for the tax increase. The decline in property value is attributed to the decrease in ocen front condo properties.

Read the full story here http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/25960528/council-approves-property-tax-uptick-in-north-myrtle-beach

Sen. Kevin Bryant of Anderson failed in his filibuster attempt against Anderson County’s school districts penny sales-tax increase. His filibuster ended when senators voted 23-15 to approve a cloture motion. Minutes later, senators voted 35-5 to give final approval to a bill that will allow school districts in more than a dozen South Carolina counties to hold referendums on proposed sales-tax increases.During his filibuster, Bryant said these referendums could result in a $1 billion tax increase throughout the state.”We can’t afford it,” Bryant said. “There is a breaking point.”

Governor Nikki Haley signed S.B.437 on June 9. The legislation helps homeowners who rent out their primary residences part-time allowing them to keep their 4% assessment rate for owner occupied primary residence.  The new law will now allow for home owners to rent their homes for up to 72 days and still qualify for their 4% assessment rate. Prior to this bill homeowners would lose their 4% assessment rate if they rented out their property for more than 15 days in one calendar year. This bill is geared towards homeowners along the coast and on islands, however it is not limited to them so homeowners inland can benefit as well.

To read the full article please visit http://www.bna.com/property-tax-post-b17179891441/

Lexington County Council Councilman Bill Banning and Ned Tolar will face each other in a runoff on June 24th.  The outcome of the June 10th primary was a fight between those in support of the tax and those who fought hard against it in the weeks leading up to the primary. Ned Tolar a anti-tax advocate who came in second place on Tuesday in a three candidate race to the incumbent Banning. Tolar said of the proposed tax increase “The message we put our just appealed to more people, If taxes are necessary , we need to do it but, in this case, they’re not necessary.”

The third place finisher Billy Oswald endorsed Tolar after his defeat. Banner said about Tolar “he better put on his running shoes” saying that he would not be out worked by Tolar and his campaign. Banning has held his seat as county councilman for 16 years. The runoff will be in District 8 which stretches from West Columbia through the Oak Grove area to the east side of Lexington and through part of the south shore of Lake Murray.

For more on this story see The State Paper

The Great Recession had unexpected effects on South Carolinian property tax rates. When the housing market was at its height during the early and mid 2000’s citizens were begging for relief from the high property reassessment values they were getting. So in 2006 the state responded with Act 388 in 2006, which exempted owner-occupied properties from taxes to fund school operations, raised the sales tax to make up the revenue, and put a 15 percent cap on the amount a property’s taxable value could rise during reassessment. The cap was meant to approximate the rate of expected inflation. Counties reassess every five years, so the 15 percent cap represented 3 percent annual gains in real estate values.

First, property tax rates increased substantially. Normally, when counties reassess, property tax rates go down to account for rising values. But if values drop, tax rates must rise to generate the same amount of taxes.

Second, more than nine out of 10 properties in Beaufort County had capped values going into the reassessment. While most properties were worth less in 2012 than in 2007, the capped property values were often even lower because those caps were on real estate values dating back to the county’s 2002 reassessment.

Read the full story at http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140601/PC16/140609958/1006/property-tax-reformers-never-expected-falling-values

Our first No New Tax Pledge Signers is Mark Cathcart running for S.C. House of Representatives in Union County. We applaud his stance and encourage other candidates running for office to join him and countless others political leaders in the state!!!