Beaufort County’s Green Space sales tax increase started Monday. How much will it cost you?
May 1 marked the start of Beaufort County’s Green Space sales tax. The 1% increase will be used to purchase land for recreation and protection against development.
The new tax will run for two years — ending in May 2025 — or until $100 million has been collected.
The new policy follows November’s referendum, when about 52% of Beaufort County voters cast their ballots in support of the program.
Purchases of food, gas and medicine will be exempt from the tax increase. Officials estimate tourist commerce will bring in 40% of the $100 million goal, according to previous reporting.
Beaufort County is the first in the state to adopt the Green Space tax, which originates from a state bill championed by state Sen. Tom Davis. The program allows the county to purchase development rights or total ownership of land threatened by development, seeking to lessen detrimental impacts on land use, traffic, public safety, stormwater runoff and water quality.
To guide the distribution of collected tax dollars, officials will use the Beaufort County Greenprint Plan, which highlights areas deemed critical for preservation.
Although a tax increase was a “last resort,” Davis said the program was the only way he could imagine tackling overdevelopment in Beaufort County.
Unlike the Rural and Critical Land Preservation program — a similar county initiative that is funded by property tax — Green Space efforts are much larger in scope and will use only the sales tax proceeds. The new program also allows officials to purchase development rights outside of Beaufort County.
“This is a monumental victory for this part of the Lowcountry, which is facing unprecedented threats from coastal suburban sprawl and the loss and degradation of our natural resources that often follow,” said Faith Rivers James, the Coastal Conservation League’s executive director following the referendum’s November victory. “Beaufort is once again a trailblazer in the state.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 2:52 PM.
