Anti-Tax Activist Decries Proposal to Add to Local Sales Taxes in S. Carolina. (Originated from The State, Columbia, S.C.)

Oct. 28--Anti-tax activist Don Weaver says an extra penny on local sales taxes would be "an absolute windfall" for big businesses.

He's half-right. If voters in Richland and Lexington counties approve the added tax Nov. 2, the money will be used to lower property tax bills for both businesses and homeowners.

But manufacturers and utilities don't pay sales tax on much of the goods and fuel they use. The looms in a textile mill, the coal burned by power plants, even the paper this newspaper is printed on, are all sales tax free.

Big business like South Carolina Electric & Gas and Southern Bell "are getting a rollback and they don't pay sales taxes," Weaver said. "Are they going to reduce the rates for electricity and phone service? I doubt it."

Besides the property and sales tax breaks, businesses in …