GAS TAX “TRICKERATION”

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MONEY COMING OUT OF YOUR POCKET …

South Carolina’s “Republican-controlled” House of Representatives wants to cut the state’s gas tax in half …

Good news, right? Well yeah … if that was the extent of the plan.

Unfortunately, it isn’t. After cutting the state’s gas tax from 16.75 percent to 8.75 cents – they would start applying sales tax to all gasoline purchases (which are currently exempt from sales tax in South Carolina).

Rather than “cutting the gas tax,” this would actually result in a $200 million a year tax hike.

It’s pure smoke and mirrors, in other words …

That’s not all, though. In addition to this $200 million trickeration, lawmakers want voters to approve a separate statewide sales tax hike – a “one penny” increase that they say will bring in another $643 million annually for roads.

Add it all up and we’re looking at $843 million (at least) being sucked out of the state’s consumer economy each year … from consumers who are already paying the nation’s second-highest percentage of their incomes on gas (only Mississippians pay more).

Can the state’s economy (which is suffering from flat incomes and record low labor participation) really afford that?

Hell no …

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