BILL TO END POINT-OF-SALE REASSESSMENT GETS HOUSE APPROVAL

Monday, 06 April 2009
SCBIZ Daily Staff

COLUMBIA -- The S.C. House has given key approval, on an 85-23 vote, to a bill to end immediate reassessment of properties at their sale price. The measure passed the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate for passage, would put off reassessments until the county’s regular five-year cycle. Real estate experts have complained that the immediate reassessments based on the sale price have brought a huge jolt for taxpayers, because the sale price has often been far more than the most recent assessment on the books.

Rep. Harry Ott, D-Calhoun, said that the measure’s 15% reassessment cap forces homeowners of moderate means to help carry the tax burden of those with fancier homes that can gain value more quickly. He also said the bill cuts needed funding that the reassessments had been generating for state and local government.

Top executives in the real estate industry have complained that the changes created huge inequities and disincentives to buy. When a property sells, its assessment can jump to far more than that of a similar property that has not changed hands. In many commercial leases, these taxes are passed on to tenants, who sometimes flee to other properties that have not been sold. Others have complained that the resulting higher taxes are putting off deals entirely.

“Given our state’s current 11% unemployment rate, the second-worst unemployment rate in the country, the governor was asked what his job creation plan was,” Harrell said.

“Unfortunately, the governor had no answer to the question.”

Published April 6, 2009