South Carolina will raise its gas tax for road repairs after the General Assembly overrode Gov. Henry McMaster’s veto on Wednesday, according to the House and Senate journals.
The House voted 95 to 18 to override, and the Senate followed 32 to 12. McMaster vetoed the bill, H. 3516, on Tuesday.
“I am vetoing this bill because it represents the single largest tax increase in our state’s history, and places its greatest burden on South Carolina’s working families, young workers and senior citizens,” McMaster wrote in his veto message. He argued lawmakers should first spend existing gas tax money more efficiently and overhaul the Department of Transportation.
The law raises the state’s motor fuel user fee by 2 cents a gallon each July 1 from 2017 through 2022, a total of 12 cents. All of the added money goes to a new Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund, which may be used only for repairs, maintenance and improvements to the existing transportation system.
McMaster wrote that the bill would require South Carolinians “to pay more than 70% in additional taxes at the fuel pump.”
Other fees climb as well. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the biennial registration fee for most passenger vehicles becomes $40, or $36 for owners 65 and older. Owners of electric and other vehicles that don’t use taxed fuel will pay a $120 road use fee every two years, and hybrid owners will pay $60.
A new infrastructure maintenance fee of 5%, capped at $500, will be charged when a newly purchased vehicle is first registered in South Carolina. Those vehicles will be exempt from the sales tax. Vehicles first registered in another state will pay $250.
To offset the cost, residents can claim a refundable income tax credit for vehicle maintenance on up to two vehicles. It’s limited to the lesser of what they paid in added fuel tax or what they spent on maintenance. The law also phases in a state earned income tax credit and expands other credits.
It also changes how members of the Department of Transportation’s commission are chosen and repeals the Joint Transportation Review Committee.
Among Charleston-area senators, Republicans Larry Grooms and Sean Bennett of Summerville voted to override. Republican Chip Campsen of Isle of Palms voted to sustain the veto, the Senate Journal shows.
