Beaufort County 1% sales tax likely will stop by end of year. What that means for you
Beaufort County residents and visitors will no longer have to pay an additional 1% sales tax by the end of the year, according to county spokesperson Chris Ophardt.
The county likely has already raised the maximum $120 million from its penny transportation tax, and the S.C. Department of Revenue hopes to stop collecting the tax by Thanksgiving, Ophardt told a reporter this week.
The S.C. Treasurer’s Office has notified county officials that the sales tax, approved in a 2018 referendum, raised more than $119 million as of Sept. 30, Ophardt said. Based on that figure, the county likely received the $120 million it was supposed to get from the tax in October.
Beaufort County does not know exactly how much it has raised to date because its reports from the S.C. Treasurer’s Office come a month late. The most recent report on the county’s website shows the tax has collected $119,455,096 as of September.
Voters approved the 1% transportation tax in 2018 to pay for the ongoing U.S. 278 bridge project ($80 million), traffic improvements on Lady’s Island ($30 million) and sidewalk and pathway projects throughout the county ($10 million). The tax is supposed to cease to be collected either once it raised $120 million or after four years, whichever came first.
News that Beaufort County will end the transportation tax comes the same week that voters resoundingly shot down a new 1% sales tax referendum that would have funded tax credits for property owners and paid for municipal government projects. It also comes as some county officials are pushing a plan to propose a new transportation sales tax in 2022.
The county is working with the S.C. Department of Revenue to notify residents and vendors when to stop collecting the tax, Ophardt said.
Once it has ceased, Beaufort County’s sales tax rate will drop from 7% to 6%.
Any money collected over the $120 million cap will be used to pay for construction and labor on the Lady’s Island and sidewalk projects, Ophardt said. This would be in line with S.C. law, which states that any excess money collected from a transportation tax must first be used to fund the projects the tax was intended for.
If those projects are complete, the extra money must then be used to pay the principal on transportation infrastructure debts, state law says.
Where do the penny sales tax projects stand?
As part of the penny sales tax program, Beaufort County identified nine projects intended to improve traffic on Lady’s Island and eight sidewalk and pathway projects countywide.
Of the nine Lady’s Island projects, one — a new right turn lane at the intersection of Sam’s Point Road and U.S. 21 — has been fully completed. Five of the projects are in their final design phase, and the final three are undergoing pre-design and environmental reviews, Ophardt said.
All of the sidewalks and pathways — which include projects in Bluffton, Beaufort, St. Helena, Lady’s Island and Port Royal — are still in design or early pre-design stages, according to the county’s website.
This week, the county held a community meeting to discuss one of the pathway projects planned at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from Sea Island Parkway to Jonathan Francis Senior Drive. The proposed 5-foot sidewalk is still in its design stage, according to the county.
For a full list of the projects funded by the penny sales tax and their status, visit beaufortcountypenny.com.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
