South Carolina counties will decide this fall on transportation taxes

Voters in five of South Carolina’s 10 most populous counties will decide this fall on issues that include transportation funding. All the transportation measures would raise about $600 million annually.

Anderson County

Voters in Anderson County will decide Nov. 5 whether to add a 1% transportation sales tax.

The tax in the state’s ninth-most-populated county would be collected on any purchase in the county except for certain groceries.

Revenue from the penny tax is estimated be between $40 million and $50 million annually for seven years.

Money would be used for highways, roads, streets, bridges and mass transit systems throughout the county located northeast of the capital city of Columbia along Interstate 85.

Tax collection would begin in May 2025.

Critics argue now is not a good time to add a tax on people who already are paying higher prices for items.

Beaufort County

Fall ballots in Beaufort County will include a question about implementing a 1% transportation tax.

The penny tax in the state’s 10^th-largest county would replace the two-year-old Green Space Sales Tax that sunsets this December. It would be collected for 10 years or until $950 million in funds are raised, whichever occurs first.

The tax would be levied on most retail purchases. Exceptions would be made for goods that include fuel, unprepared foods and medical prescriptions and supplies.

Revenue would be used for roads, bridges, transit and other transportation-related projects. One highlighted project is the U.S. 78 corridor project.

Advocates say the new tax would allow the county located northeast of Savannah to collect needed transportation revenue from visitors.

The county has collected three transportation sales taxes over the past quarter century. The most recent transportation tax was approved by voters in 2018 and ended in 2022.

Charleston County

Another transportation sales tax referendum will be on Charleston County ballots.

The half-cent tax in the state’s third-largest county would be collected for 25 years, or until $5.4 billion is raised.

Revenue in the coastal county would be used for highways, roads, streets, bridges and other transportation-related projects.

One highlighted project is the extension of the Mark Clark Expressway. The project would receive more than $2 billion of the referendum’s funding.

A legal challenge has been filed on the ballot question. The suit alleges the referendum does not meet the requirements for transparency under state law.

Greenville County

Greenville County voters will decide on a transportation tax question.

The 1% sales tax would be used to fund more than 1,500 road and bridge projects across the state’s largest county. A complete list of projects affected is available.

The penny tax is estimated to raise about $1 billion over eight years. The tax would not be applied to groceries, pharmacy goods and fuel.

Advocates say the tax revenue is needed because there is a lack of alternative funding for road repairs. Opponents counter that residents would be better served by better management of the county’s budget before collection of a new tax is implemented.

Richland County

Ballots in Richland County will include a question about whether to revise a penny-on-the-dollar transportation tax that has been collected since 2013 in the state’s second-most-populated county.

The penny tax is expected to reach its original goal of $1.07 billion by 2026. Voters in the county that includes the capitol city of Columbia later approved a question to end the tax program once it reached the goal amount.

Approval this fall would authorize collection of the tax until $4.5 billion is raised or a 25-year timeline is up, whichever happens first.

About one-quarter of all revenue would be applied to the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority bus transit system. The remainder would benefit other transportation and road projects. LL

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