Just as we did in 2024, Lowcountry voters should vote no to the Beaufort County 2026 request for a $780 million, 8 year, sales tax increase
About the Referendum
Lowcountry voters have been asked several times over three decades to approve a temporary Beaufort County sales tax. Often called the “penny tax”, it helps pay for roads, bridges, and other transportation projects. The first one approved by Lowcountry voters was in 1998, it raised $40 million. In 2006, voters approved a $152 million request, in 2018, a $120 million request. In 2024, voters rejected a much bigger request, $950 million over 10 years. This November, the county has another big request, $780 million for 8 years.
Why Vote No
They already have plenty of money set aside. Every South Carolina county has leftover taxpayer money from past, taxpayer approved, sales tax referendums. Beaufort County has $470 million which equates to $2,304 per resident, covering 10 years of future spending. South Carolina county peers keep far less on hand, about $1,050 per resident, covering 5 years of future spending. Lowcountry taxpayers should demand Beaufort County spend down what it already has before asking for more.
The 2026 request is too large and longer than previous approved referendums, adjusted for population and cost of living. Past approved referendums (1998, 2006, 2018), updated for today’s population and cost of living, point to a request that should be $67 million a year for 4 years. The November 2026 request seeks $98 million a year for 8 years, 46% too big, 4 years too long. It looks too much like the failed 2024 referendum and too little like the 1998, 2006, 2018 approved referendums.
The county’s claim of “significant population growth” (earlier called ‘unprecedented’) does not hold up. The first five words of the original text for the County 2026 referendum website noted “faced with unprecedented population growth”. They’ve since changed that to “significant population growth”. Federal data doesn’t support either claim. FRED population data indicates Beaufort’s population growth rate peaked around 2010 and has been trending lower since. Current Beaufort County population growth rates are no different to its South Carolina peers.
Beaufort County is already one of the biggest county governments in the state. On multiple spending measures (including total funding and referendum funding per resident), it fiscally ranks the biggest county government. Approving a large, long-term sales tax increase only makes the fiscally biggest South Carolina county government, bigger.
Bottom Line: The county has reserves, the ask is oversized, the population growth justification is weak, and its size of government is already too big. Lowcountry taxpayers got it right in 2024 when the county referendum request failed. The 2026 referendum deserves the same failed outcome. Future referendums deserve the same fate until its metrics equal its peer group, where value and term are consistent with past voter-approved requests.
