North Augusta Chamber of Commerce » Latest News

Beware of a Backdoor Tax Increase

judywhaley — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:17:28 +0000

To read the Op-Ed online or see the comments please click below:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/nov/06/beware-ofa-backdoortax-increase/

The below Op-Ed from The Post and Courier this morning is making my blood pressure go through the roof! It is my understanding that the only reason this is being taken up by the courts is because the General Assembly has forced this issue to remain on the back burner for years. The time has come to stop talking about the problem and fix it!

The line “But this process must take place in the legislative arena, where the resulting effects on businesses and individuals are carefully considered, not mandated by court intervention.” kills me. Will this matter get the same “Careful Consideration” as ACT 388? Will the General Assembly give the recommendations from the TRAC commission this same “careful consideration” instead of allowing that study to sit on a dusty shelf along with countless other studies?

The time for talking our State’s problems to death has passed. We are tired of the finger pointing and blah blah blah that occurs all to often during the session from many(NOT ALL) of the legislators in Columbia. Let’s fix the problem!

Beware of a backdoor tax increase

BY BOBBY HARRELL and GLENN McCONNELL

Sunday, November 6, 2011

A $3 billion tax increase would be forced on all South Carolinians if a lawsuit recently filed in the S.C. Supreme Court succeeds. The suit is being brought by Dick Harpootlian, the chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, representing Matthew Bodman. The lawsuit would raise taxes by 6 percent across the board on many everyday items such as residential electricity and water bills, prescription drugs, groceries, newspapers and diabetic supplies, just to name a few. It would abolish all of our state’s sales tax exemptions, resulting in the largest tax increase in our state’s history.
Faced with a conservative General Assembly that has proven its resolve to cut government spending instead of raising taxes to balance our state’s budget, this group decided to bypass the Legislature by taking its tax hike crusade to court, and the S.C. Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case.
You may not think this will greatly affect you, but this backdoor tax increase would be paid by every single South Carolinian and would swell the size of our government. Adding $3 billion in new taxes would grow our state’s current $6 billion General Fund Budget by an astounding 50 percent.
Recent news accounts about this court case haven’t fully described just how much the elimination of these sales tax exemptions will directly impact your wallet. But should this lawsuit succeed, people will quickly become very aware — if only too late.
This lawsuit tries to portray these exemptions as “special interest” corporate handouts. But the vast majority are important tax cuts that save South Carolinians a lot of money. Paying an additional 6 percent to keep your water running, your lights on, your prescriptions filled, and to buy groceries for your family are taxes on the necessities of life, not corporate loopholes.
Among the top 10 sales tax exemptions are prescription drugs, $585 million; motor fuel, $500 million; groceries, $354 million; residential electricity, $188 million; cars/motorcycles/boats/planes, $173 million; toll charges (telephone), $74 million. The lawsuit would make all of these, and more, subject to sales taxes.
This lawsuit isn’t about reform. It’s a blatant political maneuver designed to circumvent the legislative process, and by doing so, usher in a new wave of Democratic-sponsored taxing and spending. This is the same reasoning currently being employed by Washington with terrible results for our country’s economy.
Taking more money out of our recovering economy and putting it in the hands of government is not a path to prosperity and is an avenue South Carolina should avoid.
The most dangerous part of this blanketed $3 billion tax hike is that there is no consideration being given to any corresponding tax cuts.
Extensive reform of our state’s tax code is long overdue, and it’s time for the General Assembly to deal with this issue. Comprehensive restructuring of our revenue system would improve South Carolina’s business climate and make our tax structure more equitable.
But this process must take place in the legislative arena, where the resulting effects on businesses and individuals are carefully considered, not mandated by court intervention.
Eliminating some exemptions no longer serving a valid purpose would give us an opportunity to lower other taxes. This approach to reform would allow for broader tax relief, make our state more competitive, and would prevent an overall — and unnecessary — tax increase.
That is why we felt it was necessary for the House and Senate to jointly file an amicus brief with the S.C. Supreme Court detailing this process. Our reason for weighing in was to protect the people of South Carolina from a $3 billion backdoor tax increase that includes no reforms and no corresponding tax relief.
Both the Legislature and the governor have clearly stated that major tax reform is a top priority this session and have already put forward several ideas with other initiatives being worked on during this past summer and fall.
To be effective, and to make our tax structure more competitive and fair, our efforts must translate into legislation, rather than a lawsuit brought before the S.C. Supreme Court designed to bring about the largest tax increase in the history of our state. Following through with legislative action is the only way real comprehensive reform will ever happen.
Bobby Harrell is speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives. Glenn McConnell is president pro tempore of the S.C. Senate. Both are Charleston Republicans.

2011 State of the Region Forum

judywhaley — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:48:30 +0000

For the CSRA to not only compete, but thrive in an increasingly global economy, we, as residents of a single region, need to operate with a regional perspective. Our region is comprised of a number of different communities, each with its own strengths and weakness. Each community offers different amenities and different lifestyles.

Its time to come together as a region, and tell our story. We have much to be proud of.

The evening will consist of networking and brief comments from:

Col. Robert A. Barker, Garrison Commander at Fort Gordon
Dean Campbell, Chairman of Edgefield County Council
Deke Copenhaver, Mayor of Augusta
Ron Cross, Chairman of Columbia County Commission
Lark Jones, Mayor of North Augusta
Dr. David Moody, Manger of Operations for DOE -SR
Ronnie Young, Chairman of Aiken County Council

We are fortunate to have Dr. Tony Robinson from Augusta State University serving as our Keynote Speaker.

In addition to being a professor of marketing at ASU, Dr. Robinson is a strategic advisor in Augusta Tomorrow’s regional defining effort. Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. is working to identify the CSRA’s regional assets and how to best capitalize on our strengths as a region. Dr. Robinson will touch a number of regional assets that make our region very unique, and he will talk extensively about the need to collaborate and work together.

To save your seat, please call the North Augusta Chamber Office at (803) 279-2323 or register online by clicking here.

Individual tickets are $35, and Corporate Sponsorships including reserved seating for eight, and recognition on all printed materials are $450.

Its going to be a great night for the CSRA. For us to function as a region, we need one voice and one vision. Please join us as we begin to move our region forward.

Event Hosted By:

Aiken Chamber of Commerce
Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce
Augusta Tomorrow, Inc.
Columbia County Chamber of Commerce
North Augusta Chamber of Commerce

Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish

judywhaley — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:15:51 +0000

One of my favorite quotes on leadership isn’t really a quote; it’s a proverb. Proverbs 29:18 says “where there is no vision, the people perish”. Regardless of your faith or beliefs, the verse has merit. The verse very simply highlights the primary mission or importance of a leader – to cast a vision and provide direction into the future. To paint a picture of our potential for all to see.

The best leaders are visionary. They aren’t limited to doing things in the same ways that we’ve always done them. They aren’t obsessed with getting the credit, and perfectly happy to share the spotlight (or better yet, avoid it all together). They understand the value of unity. Augusta has faired very well, and has received countless accolades over the last two years, but the region could be so much more. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

I was in a meeting recently with Dr. Marc Miller, Dean of the Hull College of Business at Augusta State University. Dr. Miller noted that in 1970 the Augusta-Aiken Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) area was very comparable in size, resources and other demographics to Austin, TX; Albuquerque, NM; and Raleigh, NC; but that doesn’t hold true today. The Augusta-Aiken MSA has roughly 540,000 people while Austin, TX is home to 1.8 million people, Raleigh has more than 1.7 million people, and Albuquerque has roughly 1 million people. What can we learn from their growth?

Those MSAs today are 2 to 3 times the size of this region. In all three cases, the communities in the region came together and defined a singular vision for the whole region and then were conscious and deliberate in the execution of that vision. They came together to dream a singular dream. A big dream. A grand vision. One vision for one region.

For us in the CSRA, our challenge is a little different only because we have allowed the Savannah River to separate us, and limit the size of our vision and lesson the scope of the dream. That cannot continue; the stakes are too high. Our communities are so intertwined we cannot continue to plan independently of one another.

One vision, one region. This vision can only be accomplished with real leadership. President Harry S. Truman once said, “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

This region has the men and women capable of developing the vision. I know we do. I’ve seen them all cast visions for their relative communities. It’s time to think bigger! It’s time to be bolder!

Over the next several months we have a couple of opportunities to come together as a region. On September 30th we will serve as the regional host for the Dave Ramsey Day-Long EntreLeadership Simlucast. The simulcast is a great opportunity to get the inspirational, motivational juices flowing, and then on October 20th, we will be host to the State of the Region Update. Click Here for more information.

The State of the Region event will bring together Mayor Jones from North Augusta, Mayor Copenhaver from Augusta, Chairman Young from Aiken County, Chairman Cross from Columbia County, and Chairman Campbell from Edgefield County. We will also hear from Dr. Moody, DOE-SR Manager, and hopefully Col. Robert Barker, new Garrison Commander at Fort Gordon.

Where are we going as a region? How do we get there from here? Most importantly, who is driving?

In closing, I will simply leave you with two final quotes.

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” – John Buchan

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why Shop Local?

judywhaley — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:34:17 +0000

Why Shop Local?

Top Ten Reasons to Shop Local

1. Protect Local Character and Prosperity
By choosing to support locally owned businesses, you help maintain North Augusta’s diversity and distinctive flavor.

2. Community Well-Being
Locally owned businesses build strong neighborhoods by sustaining communities, linking neighbors, and by contributing more to local causes.

3. Local Decision Making
Local ownership means that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions.

4. Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy
Your dollars spent in locally-owned businesses have three times the impact on your community as dollars spent at national chains. When shopping locally, you simultaneously create jobs, fund more city services through sales tax, invest in neighborhood improvement and promote community development.

5. Job and Wages
Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.

6. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship fuels America’s economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.

7. Public Benefits and Costs
Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls.

8. Environmental Sustainability
Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.

9. Competition
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

10. Product Diversity
A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

Adapted and reprinted with permission of Stacy Mitchell, The Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Two Savannah River Site Projects Gain National Recognition

judywhaley — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:23:50 +0000

The folks at Savannah River National Lab.(1 of only 12 National Labs in the Country) are tackling some of the worlds most pressing needs, energy independence & energy security among them, right here in Aiken, SC, and many of them live here in North Augusta.

AIKEN, SC – The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site has received Environmental Sustainability (EStar) awards from DOE for two projects growing out of technology research, development and application at the Savannah River National Laboratory.

EStar awards recognize excellence in pollution prevention and sustainable environmental stewardship. They are awarded for projects and programs that reduce environmental impacts, enhance site operations, and reduce costs.

One award, for Renewable Technology Development, Deployment and Education in South Carolina, is a collaboration between SRNL and the Economic Development Partnership of South Carolina. Through collaboration, SRNL has shared expertise and knowledge of renewable energy technologies with EDP, which in turn has leveraged existing relationships with industry to identify and evaluate specific opportunities. The results have ranged from emissions reductions (through deployment and staging of hydrogen and wind energy technology) to community education programs.

The second award recognized a project to remediate tritium-contaminated debris in an innovative, cost-effective way. SRNL identified and tested technology to remove tritium from contaminated concrete and soil by using a high heat source called a “thermal detritiation unit.” Each unit is a concrete block structure housing an array of commercially available heating elements, effectively removing the tritium over a period of time. The treated soil and concrete debris can be disposed at an on-site excavation site rather than sent offsite for disposal, reducing transportation, packaging and disposal costs. Over $1.6 million in transportation cost savings and an avoidance of 400,000 truck miles were realized from the deployment.

“These awards are hard to get, and we can all be justifiably proud that SRS has been recognized in this way,” said Dr. David Moody, manager of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River office. “This calls attention to the value of our National Laboratory as a technology engine, and the expertise we have in dealing with challenging cleanup issues. Both of these projects represent valuable contributions not only to the site, but to the region and to other DOE complex sites.”

DOE’s Steve Mackmull is the federal lead for the site’s Pollution Prevention program. John Harley of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is the lead for the contractor organization.

The awards are among 15 granted by DOE out of 186 national entries.
Additional information on the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the Savannah River Site, can be found at http://www.em.doe.gov or http://www.srs.gov. For more information about the SRS Recovery Act Project, please visit www.srs.gov/recovery.

Leadership North Augusta Breaks Ground on Outdoor Classroom

judywhaley — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:25:53 +0000

The Class of 2011 of Leadership North Augusta, which graduated on June 1, wanted their legacy to be a “project with lasting impact on the community,” said Walker Posey, a member of the class who helped put the project together.
The result has been termed “magic” by School Board member Ray Fleming. Speaking at last week’s official groundbreaking for an outdoor classroom at North Augusta Elementary School, Fleming said, “This is the kind of magic that can take place when members of the community join with the schools – an exciting, relevant learning opportunity.”
“There was a need for an outdoor classroom,” said Posey, who explained the Leadership NA group coordinated getting the materials and the labor. Many of the members will help with the physical labor when all the materials are in place, said Posey.
During last Thursday’s official groundbreaking, Posey said the school’s PTO and the Leadership class began to work on the project, and “everything came together just right.”

For complete article follow this link:

http://www.aikenstandard.com/star_news/News-0616-OUTDOOR-CLASSROOM

Second class of Leadership NA graduates

judywhaley — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:23:31 +0000

The second group of participants in Leadership North Augusta last Wednesday moved into the history books as 13 local members of the business community graduated.
A total of nine men and four women gathered with their guests for a dinner at Lookaway Hall. They shared some thoughts on what they had learned through the eight-month-long experience.
Patrick Zier, a member of the first Leadership North Augusta class and president of the board of directors during this past year, told the group of graduates, “This is just the beginning.” He said North Augusta will benefit from the program as will those who have been a part of it.
He suggested those graduates should go back and thank their employers, who not only put up the money for each one to participate but also gave their employees the time to spend one Wednesday a month out of the business and in Leadership North Augusta.
Zier reminded the gathering that Leadership North Augusta is a growing, changing program. He indicated the board, which will include several from the newly-completed class, is charged with looking at the program and determining what is working, what they would like to see done differently, etc. Shelley Craft, who is the incoming board president, agreed. “We need to keep it changing each year,” she said.
Two members of the class, Karen Denny of Grace United Methodist Church and Alphia Dunbar of the Aiken Center put together a PowerPoint presentation and gave a brief comment on the many facets of their education through Leadership North Augusta.
“I was born and raised here, but I’ve never learned so much in my life,” said Denny,

for complete article follow this link:

http://www.aikenstandard.com/star_leadstory/News-0609-LNA-GRADUATION

Amazon and Internet Sales Tax: What is Fair?

judywhaley — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:37:46 +0000

I’ve gone back and forth on this issue and have really struggled with whether or not internet purchases should be taxed. On one hand, South Carolina needs the jobs, but on the other hand, we have small local businesses that are struggling to keep their head above water, and they are required to collect and pay sales taxes.

Obviously, this is a drastic over simplification of the issue, but I would love some feedback. Below is a recent article concerning federal legislation that will deal will the issue on a national level.

Internet sales tax push gains currency

By: Michelle Quinn
June 6, 2011 02:39 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO — The days of the Internet as a tax-free shopping zone may be numbered.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is expected to step into the escalating Internet sales tax battle as soon as this week with a bill that would allow the 44 states — plus Washington, D.C. — that collect sales taxes to require out-of-state online retailers to pay up.

Durbin’s Main Street Fairness Act is similar to some previous congressional efforts to weigh in on whether states can force online businesses to collect sales taxes on items sold to state residents. But while those efforts failed, this year may be different.

Faced with state budget shortfalls, some large states like Texas, California and Illinois are looking to online retailers for additional tax revenues. As a result, large e-tailers — such as Amazon.com — have threatened to cut off affiliates who sell in those states rather than start collecting taxes.

“Federal legislation is needed to solve this issue comprehensively and uniformly and there is no time like the present,” said Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Similar legislation introduced last year by former Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) went nowhere. However, the dynamics in Congress may have changed now that a growing number of states have passed or are considering bills to address the issue and online businesses are faced with the possibility of complying with many different state laws and many different state sales tax rates.

Retailers that already collect sales taxes on online or offline purchases argue that the current system gives an unfair competitive advantage to online retailers like Amazon and others who do not have brick-and-mortar stores inside the state because shoppers can go online to avoid sales tax.

Amazon, and other online retailers, have said that some state actions requiring sales tax collection by sellers that lack physical presence in the state are unconstitutional. Opponents of state efforts have argued that the bills would kill jobs if online retailers such as Amazon followed through with threats to pull up stakes in the state.

At the center of the issue is a 1992 Supreme Court decision, which said that states could require retailers to collect sales tax only if they have a physical presence, such as stores or headquarters, in the state where the buyer lives. Many online retailers like Amazon do not have stores or headquarters in the same state as buyers. When states have proposed bills arguing that Amazon and others have a presence because of affiliates in states, Amazon has threatened to close warehouses or end its relationships with the affiliates.

Many states, including California, technically require residents to pay sales tax for out-of-state purchases on their own, typically on their income tax statements, but most shoppers do not comply. California tax officials estimate the state loses more than $1 billion in revenue each year to unclaimed taxes on online purchases. California’s State Assembly passed a bill last week which would extend the statewide sales tax to purchases made from online retailers that have a physical presence in the state. Other bills addressing the issue have moved forward as well.

When Amazon has responded to some proposed state measures by threatening to sever relationships with affiliates, other retailers such as Wal-Mart have offered to work with these affiliates.

The idea behind Durbin’s bill is that states would be able to require online retailers to collect sales tax if the states first agree to a streamlined sales tax. So far, 24 states are members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which would simplify and harmonize sales tax nationwide. Some states have rankled at aspects of the sales tax agreement and have been reluctant to sign on, until they have been sure that Congress will step in and force online retailers to collect sales tax.

Amazon has indicated it supports the streamlined sales tax effort. “A national resolution, involving tax simplification evenhandedly applied, is the legally permissible path for states to follow,” the company said in a letter to a California tax official earlier this year.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 1:08 p.m. on June 6, 2011.

Check Out Our New Members for May!

judywhaley — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:02:46 +0000

We have had a very busy month, and have 14 new members to brag about. Each of the businesses below contribute, not only to the local economy, but to our overall character and quality of life.

Please, please please take a minute to welcome each of our newest members, and be sure to support our local businesses.

Please Help Me Welcome: