Good news on taxation of owner-occupied homes.
House Bill 4449, passed by the South Carolina State Legislature contains two bits of good news for those who have owner-occupied homes. Part I of Section III provides exemption from School Operating Millage. It states that 100% of the Fair Market Value for the 4% assessment ratio is exempt from paying for schools. The loss of revenue suffered by the school districts will be made up by a 1% increase in the sales tax.
This will encourage home ownership, and move much of the burden of funding schools to renters and tourists. This will mildly hurt industries which are sales tax sensitive, such as convention businesses, and places which thrive on tourism dollars, but it will reward those who own homes and actually live in them. It will also encourage renters to buy homes. Ideally, this would be a boon to the middle class and to residential builders.
