Ruling Could Cost SC $100 Million

South Carolina lawmakers will likely have to pay back as much as $100 million to local school districts after the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that six plaintiff districts are entitled to receive reimbursement for “taxes lost” from payments made on taxpayer-incurred debt.

Previously, the S.C. Department of Revenue had declined to reimburse local districts for these “costs,” arguing that interest payments and capital debt obligations did not constitute “school operating purposes” – which let’s face it, they don’t.

South Carolina’s left-leaning Supreme Court disagreed, though, and in so doing exposed yet another unintended consequence of an ill-conceived 2006 property tax-sales tax swap.

“We find the Plaintiffs are entitled to reimbursement for the taxes lost as a result of this exemption,” Justice Donald Beatty wrote on behalf of the majority opinion, which is obviously based on a very liberal interpretation of what constitutes an ‘operating expense.’

Of course, Beatty is a liberal Democrat – which is exactly what we kept telling people when South Carolina’s “Republican” General Assembly elected him to the high court two years ago.

Incidentally, the same “Republicans” who appointed Beatty have also failed repeatedly to reform the most wasteful, inefficient and ineffective education system in the nation – one with far too many districts, funding categories, and unnecessary expenses.

And far too much failure.

Anyway, this landmark case has failed to attract much (any) media attention since it was decided last week – which is surprising considering the far-reaching implications it could have on an already deteriorating state revenue situation.

Oh well, keep it tuned to FITS as those implications become clearer …

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