We’re always on the lookout for strange taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. policies, and South Carolina has recently supplied two. The South Carolina Legislature assembled on June 25 to reconsider several bills that had been vetoed by Gov. Mark Sanford. Here is the information from South Carolina’s revenue website on two of the more interesting vetoes that were overridden by the Legislature:
The $50 Venison Income Tax CreditA tax credit is a provision that reduces a taxpayer’s final tax bill, dollar-for-dollar. A tax credit differs from deductions and exemptions, which reduce taxable income, rather than the taxpayer’s tax bill directly. :
“Section 12‑6‑3750.
(A) Beginning with the year 2008, there shall be allowed a nonrefundable credit against taxes imposed by this chapter for a meat packer, butcher, or processing plant licensed or permitted by this State or the United States Department of Agriculture that, during the tax year for which the credit is claimed, had a valid contract with any nonprofit organization to process deer for donation to any charitable organization engaged in distributing food to the needy. No portion of the donated deer shall be used by a commercial enterprise. The amount of the credit shall be fifty dollars for each carcass processed and donated. The credit must be claimed in the year earned and may not be carried to any other taxable year.
(B) For the purposes of this section, ‘process’ means to skin, cut, bone, grind, package, or perform any butchering tasks necessary to prepare the meat for distribution and consumption. The processing must take place in a licensed or permitted establishment.”
Second Amendment Sales Tax HolidayA sales tax holiday is a period of time when selected goods are exempted from state (and sometimes local) sales taxes. Such holidays have become an annual event in many states, with exemptions for such targeted products as back-to-school supplies, clothing, computers, hurricane preparedness supplies, and more. :
“This two-day sales taxA sales tax is levied on retail sales of goods and services and, ideally, should apply to all final consumption with few exemptions. Many governments exempt goods like groceries; base broadening, such as including groceries, could keep rates lower. A sales tax should exempt business-to-business transactions which, when taxed, cause tax pyramiding. holiday applies to purchases of handguns, rifles and shotguns and will take place every year on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year the Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday will take place on November 28th and 29th of 2008. Information concerning the Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday will be published later this year.”
We would point out, as we have many times before, that these types of tax benefits only add to the complexity of a state’s tax system, and especially in the case of sales tax holidays, are just plain bad tax policies. Read more about tax complexity in our Compliance Cost and Tax Complexity section. Read more about sales tax holidays from our blog, here and here.
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