We Support Act 388
Act 388 reduced homeowner property taxes by 50% without raising taxes on businesses or secondary homes. In 2006, after a large public outcry from enraged homeowners, the General Assembly passed “ACT 388” in an effort to spread the burden of local government costs among the general population – not just property owners. As a result, most residential property tax bills – for owner occupied properties – dropped by an average of 50%!
Act 388 kept business & secondary home taxes the same. Homeowners only received a rebate from the 1% increase in sales tax. To fund property tax relief, the General Assembly raised the state sales tax from 5% to 6%. This historic compromise was the result of four years of hard work by taxpayer groups from all over South Carolina. There was no transfer of property tax from owner-occupied homes to business and second homes.
Act 388 limits tax increases on ALL properties by (1) limiting millage increases to CPI + population increase, plus (2) limiting the increase in ALL property values to 15% in 5 years. (Average: 3% per year).
Despite these efforts, some groups in our state are now saying that ACT 388 was “unfair…or controversial”. Nothing is further from the truth. What these groups really resent are the sensible caps on all local and education spending included in ACT 388. We want the General Assembly to know that we will vigorously oppose any efforts to gut ACT 388 and we will regard this as a broken covenant to what was promised to taxpayers and property owners in 2006.
Don’t let your home be an ATM for government. Already in 2019, several bills have been introduced to reform or “improve” ACT 388. The real purpose of these bills is to restore the unlimited spending ability of local governments and school districts – regardless of taxpayers’ ability to pay. Unless you are ready to double your annual property taxes and increase your monthly mortgage escrow payments, we urge you to join us!