News and Press Releases for May 2006

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05/25/2006

Gov. Sanford Praises House, Senate Property Tax Compromise

Governor Compliments Senate for Moving Toward Plan Supported by Governor, House

Columbia, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the property tax agreement reached today by House and Senate conferees that eliminates school operating property taxes for primary residences and provides immediate tax relief to South Carolinians in the form of a grocery tax reduction:

"We've said from day one that with $1 billion new dollars coming to Columbia this year that a dividend ought to be returned to the taxpayers, and the plan adopted today is a step toward meeting that marker," Gov. Sanford said. "While we continue to believe much more should be done to provide tax relief this year, we're glad the House stood with us on the idea of providing at least some immediate relief and that the Senate ultimately agreed. We've had a number of conversations with House and Senate leaders on this front as these negotiations entered the final stages, and we're obviously very pleased to see that homeowners will be a step closer to property tax relief with this plan."

"At the same time, I want to be clear that we still have concerns about potential problems that could be created under this bill," Gov. Sanford said. "We do believe this bill could go further in addressing true education funding portability in a way that funds students and not districts, but it is a step in the right direction. As well, this bill creates the possibility of future tax increases on business owners and farm owners as homeowners demand education-related services they no longer have to foot the bill for. I'd urge every lawmaker in Columbia to bear this in mind going forward and to not close the book on the idea of further tax reform in order to address these and other issues sooner rather than later."