SC ROARS

Momentum growing for sales taxes on online purchases

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:01:51 -0500

Retailers have long argued that exempting online purchases from sales taxes gives online retailers an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

Jason Brewer of the Retail Industry Leaders Association says, ”A store manager has the power to say, ‘I’ll match that price,’ but they don’t have the power to say, ‘I won’t charge you a sales tax,’ ” he says. “They go to jail if they do that.”

February 14 News from ROAR: The Carolina Two-Step(Click above...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:45:12 -0500

February 14 News from ROAR: The Carolina Two-Step
(Click above for complete newsletter)

Choose your tax poison.

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:56:00 -0500

Choose your tax poison.:

The Post & Courrier submits a timely editorial. It’s not enough to continue our piecemeal targeting of one or two taxes, to lower here and have to raise there. We must address our tax code honestly, fairly, and comprehensively (looking at all legs of the stool)!

Closer to home, South Carolinians should have learned over the last decade or so that sales tax can be a very erratic revenue producer. The sales tax is especially vulnerable to economic slowdowns. When times are tough, people buy less, lowering the sales-tax take.

That doesn’t mean our state isn’t long overdue for comprehensive tax reform aimed at revenue-flow stability and economic vitality.

A day after introducing tax reform legislation...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:12:00 -0500

A day after introducing tax reform legislation...:

Our legislative leaders tell businesses in York County not to expect real tax reform anytime soon!

The result, heard by business owners who attended the 25th annual York County Day, is “nothing will be passed on tax reduction,” said Sen. Creighton Coleman, D-Winnsboro. Any bills introduced “will lay the foundation for next year.”

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said a “handful of items to make South Carolina competitive” will be filed in the House. But as for any comprehensive tax reform, “we’ve learned that massive legislative bills collapse under its weight.”

More of the same, South Carolina. Demand action, not words.

House GOP introduces tax reform bill

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:55:59 -0500

House GOP introduces tax reform bill:

A good first step: we’ve gotten the word out, but now we have to keep the pressure up!

Introducing bills is great PR, passing them is great leadership. We can’t be satisfied with spin: demand action!

Our latest newsletter!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:36:24 -0500

Our latest newsletter!:

Anderson Independent Standard: If one tax is lowered, another tax will rise

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:20:00 -0500

Anderson Independent Standard: If one tax is lowered, another tax will rise:

The editorial board in Anderson gets it. Piecemeal tax cuts lead to piecemeal tax hikes. It’s time to stop playing the shell game and overhaul the system COMPREHENSIVELY - lowering rates across the board, removing exemptions, and making sure our tax code is truly fair.

“Sure, we love the idea of no more income taxes. Who wouldn’t?

Yet no matter how it’s phrased, taxes are never really “eliminated” — not on food or gas or income or anything else. The lost revenue is just transferred to another area of potential funding.

And that area is almost always somewhere deep in consumers’ pockets.”

"We really can't imagine that in these lean budget times the General Assembly is going to find an additional $600 million to give to education"

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:59:35 -0500

A final followup on SCSBA’s plan for a $600 million tax hike. The editorial board at the Aiken Standard asks the same question ROAR’s been asking… where’s the money?

Until we get our economic house in order, it’s time to stop spending money we don’t have and unite behind comprehensive tax reform!

Read the editorial here: http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/0126-schoolspending-editorial-column—3742137

The Three Legs of the Stool:ROAR’s Jan. 24th Newsletter...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:22 -0500

The Three Legs of the Stool:
ROAR’s Jan. 24th Newsletter
(Click photo for link)

Same as it ever was...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:35:59 -0500

A follow up and yesterday’s article from the Aiken Standard:
http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/1025-school-board—3740695

Some salient points: (emphasis ours)
School Board Chair Rosemary English [asked] “Would the state really come up with their portion of the funding needed?” That’s a crucial issue that hasn’t been answered yet. In effect, the General Assembly would have to, at some point, find some $600 million to [pay for the plan].

[SCSBA attorney Scott Price] acknowledged that the SCSBA plan doesn’t suggest any specifics on where the state funds would come from. Any action on that issue would have to be part of the legislature’s own push toward comprehensive tax reform, he said.

They realize they’re trying to spend money they don’t have.
They realize South Carolina desperately needs comprehensive tax reform.
But instead of joining the ROAR and focusing their efforts on fixing our broken system, they continue to distract and dilute our efforts.

Well, at least they must have serious legislative support to make their counter-productive efforts worthwhile.
[SCSBA has] been shopping around to legislators, hoping to get a bill filed.
::Sigh:: Why bother trying to fix the leaky ship when there are windmills still to be chased?

ROAR: Why South Carolina Needs Comprehensive Tax Reform

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:34:55 -0500

ROAR: Why South Carolina Needs Comprehensive Tax Reform:

ROAR lays out the case for comprehensive tax reform in the Nov/Dec issue of South Carolina Business. A nice detailed look at the issue, and pretty well written if we don’t say so ourselves.

SCSBA Presents New Funding Plan (Millions in New Taxes)

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:19:07 -0500

SCSBA Presents New Funding Plan (Millions in New Taxes):

Interest groups keep putting the cart before the horse. However well intentioned, we must pass comprehensive tax reform before figuring out ways to spend hundreds of millions in new taxes.

Another example of more distractions causing more inaction.

"When South Carolina’s legislature begins a new session Tuesday, comprehensive tax reform..."

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:56:57 -0500

“

When South Carolina’s legislature begins a new session Tuesday, comprehensive tax reform should be its top priority. If the legislature truly wants to serve the people of South Carolina, it will capitalize on the momentum for change and do something comprehensive between now and June.

That momentum is represented by the legislature’s own Taxation Realignment Commission’s study, a privately-funded study from the Palmetto Institute, input from a grassroots organization called ROAR SC (Reduce Our Awful Rates), a House GOP Tax Study Committee, and a bipartisan Senate study committee.

”

- http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/01/08/1918808/legislative-session-must-target.html

Our Latest Newsletter

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:32:58 -0500

Our Latest Newsletter

Click The Photo For ROAR’s Updated Slideshow

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:15:13 -0500

Click The Photo For ROAR’s Updated Slideshow

The Bodman Case: An Analysis of the Supreme Court Case on the Merits of Sales Tax Exemptions

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:38:34 -0500

The Bodman Case: An Analysis of the Supreme Court Case on the Merits of Sales Tax Exemptions:

ROAR representatives attended the Supreme Court hearing on Bodman, and we will detail our own thoughts on the case and its impact on our cause in the coming days. In the meantime, we’ll refresh your memory with an excellent analysis that appeared in newspapers across the state.

Mike Exits as ROAR Enters New Phase

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:58:13 -0500

After two years of nearly constant travel across our state, Old Blue, Dr. Mike Fanning’s 1986 Chevy pickup, finally gave up the ghost. Worried that keeping up his hectic schedule might lead him to rejoining his beloved truck a bit too soon, Mike is stepping down from his position with ROAR. Due to employment restrictions, Mike will be forced to concentrate exclusively on his job as Executive Director of the Olde English Consortium, an unaffiliated non-profit. While Mike has done so much to spread the message of tax reform to South Carolinians of all walks of life, the time has come for all of us to carry the mantle across the finish line. Let’s ROAR.