Read more: Local, Surfside, Town, Council, Beach, Tax, Sales, Tourism
Surfside Beach town leaders provided some comfort to any residents concerned about a possible sales tax increase. The council discussed the issue Tuesday night, but overwhelmingly concluded it wasn't in the town's best interest.
A recent law gave local governments within Horry County the power to levy an extra penny on the sales tax to generate revenue for tourism promotion.
Any such measure has to pass with a super majority of council.
Councilman Doug Samples put the idea on Tuesday night's agenda, but there was virtually no support for any such tax.
Samples and others say the benefits of adding an extra penny just aren't there and he said passing such a tax would hurt already hurting businesses. He wanted to make sure the people knew there would be no new tax.
"I wanted to discuss it to see if we could get a vote against and then let it die. We're having a hard enough time as it is filling our retail space in Surfside Beach along the Highway 17 corridor. And another penny sales tax isn't going to do them any good," said Doug Samples.
Two weeks ago, Myrtle Beach's city council did pass an additional penny tax which goes into effect August 1st.
The hook for Myrtle Beach is that the new tax for them will mean property tax reduction in two years.
Which is another point Surfside Beach officials made Tuesday night. They just don't think they could generate enough from a sales tax to be able to roll back property taxes as the law would mandate.
