Republicans in South Carolina (SC) have proposed a bill that adds $250.00 to the cost of vehicle registrations for people who move to the state. They claim it is meant to cover infrastructure costs (wear and tear), but I’m calling BS.
Before the pandemic mistakes, SC scored about 24 billion in estimated annual tourism revenue (2019)—beneficiaries of the Trump Economy. That was a lot of people using roads and bridges that “paid their way” at hotels, venues, restaurants, and retail outlets while also paying gas, sales taxes, and tolls, and then left. But the state is struggling to get back to that number, and the Biden economy has hit people hard, so that’s not coming back as soon as they need it.
Big hole, that. But people are moving to South Carolina in droves.
South Carolina was one of the top ten states to move to in 2022, alongside Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Texas, according to a recent report. In the last ten years, South Carolina has grown by roughly 500,000 people with many people coming from nearby North Carolina and Georgia.
Why not tap into that shift by charging newcomers a ‘small’ relocation fee?
The tax, proposed by Republican State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, would add on an additional $250 fee to the $250 already paid by new transplants to register their vehicles. The money would go toward infrastructure in the state.
I’m offended on several levels. These new residents will, like tourists, add revenue by paying your gas and sales taxes daily. Their employers will pay more taxes for their productivity, and they will pay the state’s graduated income tax. The Palmetto State benefits from their stable permanence, and in return, you fine them $250.00 for showing up, more if they have additional vehicles.
“We in South Carolina don’t require a capital contribution of anybody that moves here from out of state, although they take advantage of our roads, our bridges, our schools, and our green spaces immediately on day one,” Goldfinch said.
Just like tourists who spend and leave, except that you’ve been a bit short on tourism lately, and if people love the state that much, what’s a few hundred bucks at the beginning of the relationship for people from high-tax cities and states?
Except that you’re supposed to be Republicans. When revenues fail to meet expectations, you look for ways to reduce spending – something you should do anyway. Nothing is as attractive as a lean government that gets it done without all the excess fat associated with bloated Democrat bureaucracies.
So I think you’ve got it backward.
You should offer people a discount on their vehicle registrations for the first year and maybe lower some taxes while you’re at it. More revenue from lower taxes is real, and with the Biden economy weighing us all down, the folks that already live there will find themselves with a few more dollars to make ends meet.
And you might attract more tourists too.
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