The Greenville Republican Women’s Club unanimously passed a Resolution to oppose the “Greenville County Special Sales and Use Tax” referendum question on the ballot November 4, 2014. The referendum is for a one-percent increase in the County Sales Tax.
The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, The Referendum calls for the collection of $673,193,630 in sales taxes from the citizens of Greenville County, which is the largest tax increase in Greenville County history;
WHEREAS, The sales tax hike could cost families in Greenville County at least $65 million each year, and Greenville County citizens cannot afford higher prices for goods and services due to this sales tax increase;
WHEREAS, Greenville County residents know how to spend their money better than the government does, yet the proposed sales tax gives the County Council discretion over even more taxpayer dollars;
WHEREAS, The money collected from the sales tax will go to Columbia, where the state government will take approximately $7 million to set up the sales tax collection program and will charge about $700,000 per year to collect the sales tax;
WHEREAS, 45% of the new sales tax is slated for resurfacing existing county and state roads, and the citizens of Greenville County already pay $15 for county road maintenance when we register our vehicles and pay 16 cents per gallon of gas for state road repair, Greenville County citizens will be double-taxed for road repairs;
WHEREAS, The 2012 Republican Party Platform affirms that, “Taxes, by their very nature, reduce a citizen’s freedom.” And further, “We reject the use of taxation to redistribute income, fund unnecessary or ineffective programs, or foster the crony capitalism that corrupts both politicians and corporations”;
WHEREAS, according to the Bylaws of the Greenville County Republican Women’s Club, the South Carolina Federation of Republican Women, and the National Federation of Republican Women, one of the Objectives/Purposes of these organizations is to foster loyalty to the Republican Party and to promote its ideals;
RESOLVED, That the Greenville County Republican Women’s Club is opposed to the proposed “Greenville County Special Sales and Use Tax”, which will be a question on the ballot November 4th, and the Club’s opposition to the tax hike may appear in press releases and other forms of communication.