Tax cuts could be coming for South Carolina boat owners
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Tax cuts are among Republicans’ priorities for the year ahead at the South Carolina State House.
A bill before lawmakers could yield significant savings for hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians.
But others worry it would force many more people to shoulder the cost of those cuts.
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South Carolina has some of the highest property taxes in the country on boats.
Legislation filed at the State House – would significantly slash that.
“South Carolina is a boating state, but our tax structure is pushing boaters and buyers out of the state. That means South Carolina loses revenue, we lose local businesses, we lose customers, we lose sales, and we lose jobs,” said Tricia Roland, owner of Mi Tide Boats in Georgetown County.
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In South Carolina, primary residences are taxed at 4% of their fair market value – and vehicles are taxed at 6%.
Boats are taxed at 10.5% of their fair market value.
This bill would cut that in half – which ers say would provide substantial tax relief to the owners of the 200,000-plus boats ed in South Carolina.
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But some counties fear they’d lose *millions of dollars in revenue that goes toward keeping schools and local governments operational – so others would have to make up for these cuts.
“As more people are coming to South Carolina, this bill is asking counties, cities, and school districts to lose a significant amount of revenue and have small businesses and renters subsidize those who have the luxury of having a boat,” said Owen McBride of the South Carolina Association of Counties.
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The South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance claims these tax cuts would result in increased revenues – by encouraging more people to buy boats and them here.
But the Association of Counties believes the state simply would not attract enough new boats here to make up for losses.
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