City Council wants local option sales tax added to ballot in November

By Mindy Lucas

At their regular meeting held on Tuesday, April 14, members of Beaufort’s City Council voted in favor of adding a local option sales tax (LOST) to the November ballot.

If passed by voters, the tax would add a penny to the current sales tax of 7 percent paid by Beaufort County residents and visitors.

Of the revenue collected, 71 percent would go back to property owners as a property tax credit. The remaining 29 percent would be distributed among the county and its municipalities.

LOST would allow for a credit against a taxpayer’s real property, personal and motor vehicle tax liability. According to various analyses, a significant amount of the revenue raised through the tax would come from visitors and tourists, a news release from the city stated.

Beaufort County Council voted 6 to 5 to add the tax on the November ballot at its meeting April 13.

According to estimates prepared by the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, a 1 percent local options sales tax would generate approximately $52 million in revenue in Beaufort County in FY 2021-22.

The lion’s share of that revenue, or $35 million, would go back to residents in the form of property tax credits. Of the remaining $14.3 million, the City of Beaufort would receive approximately $1.5 million in revenue that would be applied toward the city’s capital improvement projects.

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