Sales tax
Council gets pitch to shift more money to tax relief
An extra 1-cent sales tax will provide an estimated $12.2 million to reduce property taxes in Georgetown County.
Council Member Raymond Newton thinks the county should do more.
The council voted last week to place a local option sales tax referendum on the November ballot. A similar measure failed in 2024 by 54 votes, but voters approved a capital project sales tax that brought in $18.6 million in the first year.
By law, the local option tax revenue must be used to reduce property taxes. But up to 29 percent can be used for local government operations.
Newton pressed the council last week to designate the 29 percent share for stormwater management. Jay Watson, the county attorney, said he didn’t think that language could be included in the referendum ballot.
This week, Newton said all the sales tax revenue should be devoted to tax relief. He said there are other counties that do that.
Watson said the breakdown is part of state law: 71 percent for tax relief, 29 percent for local government. And he also pointed out that the referendum question, also part of the state law, doesn’t reference the percentages. Changing the language on the ballot could lead to a legal challenge if the referendum passes, he said.
“I’m not sure you’re correct on this,” Newton said. “I think it can be changed.”
He asked for a 5 minute recess to let Watson research the issue.
“Let me see if I can unscramble this egg,” Watson said, when the council reconvened 38 minutes later.
The council cannot specify in the referendum question that all the money be used for tax relief, he said. The state law provides that a portion of the revenue go to Georgetown, Andrews and Pawleys Island, and while the county holds the referendum, it cannot decide how the municipalities spend their share if the sales tax passes.
If approved, Watson said, it will be up to the council to decide how to spend the additional revenue.
Newton said he didn’t doubt his colleagues would do the right thing with the revenue, but said he still thought it should be part of the referendum. He cast the lone vote against the measure.
Council Member Bob Anderson, who voted against the referendum last week because voters have rejected the tax twice in the past, voted with the 6-1 majority this week. But he said the county needs to let voters know that the revenue for tax relief will start out at 63 percent. That’s also in state law. It increases 2 percent a year until it reaches 71 percent.
“When the money starts coming in, we’ll make the decisions on the rest of it,” he said.
