House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, watched Gov. Nikki Haley sign the point-of-sale bill today on Daniel Island. (Photo/Leslie Burden)

By Matt Tomsic
mtomsic@scbiznews.com
Published Aug. 15, 2011

Gov. Nikki Haley and other lawmakers gathered in Daniel Island Monday for a signing ceremony of the point-of-sale bill passed in June.

“It was nice to see that this kind of work can be done in South Carolina,” Haley said. “This is a great day and just the beginning of what we’re going to do with the property taxes in South Carolina.”

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence.

The point-of-sale law allows a tax exemption of 25% of the market value of the property being bought. It changes a 2006 law that updated the taxable value of a property to its sales price when it changed hands, reassessing the taxable value of a property at the point of sale. Haley said the 2006 law added costs for business owners and owners of second homes in particular, chilling those types of purchases.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said the 2006 law had unintended consequences, and he didn’t imagine the impact it would have on the real estate market in South Carolina. He said point-of-sale reform will help get the state’s real estate industry moving again. Haley said the state government’s next step is to look at the tax structure as a whole.

Local government representatives contested the point-of-sale bill because it leaves less revenue for their governments, while the real estate industry said the 2006 law chilled the market for commercial properties and hampered economic development in South Carolina.

Leatherman recalled telling the parties involved to solve the problem together or the General Assembly would solve it for them. Eventually, Leatherman said, the parties compromised.

“I’ve always heard if nobody’s happy, it’s a pretty good compromise,” Leatherman said.