Proposed bill could slash boat property tax for South Carolina boat owners

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Lawmakers discussed Bill S. 317 Tuesday, which is expected to slash 50% of property taxes for boat owners.

Senator Stephen Goldfinch of Georgetown introduced the bill that could bring major relief to boat owners and the marine industry. According to the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, its economic impact brings $6.5 billion and employs over 27,000 people in the Palmetto State. Earlier a companion bill, H. 3858, received support from both sides of the aisle.

“There have been two bills that have been introduced. H 3858 which in the South Carolina House of Representatives, has 40 bipartisan sponsors on it that are saying boat taxes are too high here in the state of South Carolina,” Gettys Brannon, president and CEO of SCBFA, said. “We have the highest boat taxes in the country at 10.5%. That bill also eliminates the outboard engines and titles taxes and aligns with 44 other states.”

Property taxes in the state are not standardized, which leads to varying costs per county. Advocates continue to work on getting this bill passed as they hope to make South Carolina more competitive with neighboring states.

“This bill will also create more revenue for our counties because a lot of the larger boats in our state – they are not registered here. We are pricing ourselves out of competition. With those bigger boats that’s a lot of money that travels with them, whether it goes to Florida or North Carolina or offshore somewhere for six months out of the year. We’re not getting those bigger ticket boats in our state because we’re just not competitive here,” Brannon said.

Butler Marine has also been advocating for this bill to pass, as positive impacts would go to boat companies as well.

“If property taxes were down, I would say you’re looking at a five to ten percent increase on what we sell, and that’s on a regular yearly basis,” Chris Butler, president and owner of Butler Marine, said. “I think you also may see, which I believe you for sure would see, you’d have a lot more boats in South Carolina that weren’t doing that before.”

Officials believe the support is there as boating is an attraction across the state, especially with over 75,000 boats registered in the Lowcountry.

“I think it’s real important thing especially for us on the coast, even in the area we have a lot of big lakes between the central part of the state and the northern part of the state. Boating is a culture here, I think as opposed to a lot of the others. We’re one of the top ten in boat ownership, so you’d hate to have anybody not get out and utilize the great waters we have in the state because of cost,” said Butler.

The bill is expected to be reviewed for changes. No vote was taken.