Once the state discovered the excess funds in a state government bank account, South Carolinians may be eligible for refunds totaling $1.8 billion.
According to WBTW Myrtle Beach, Republican state representative Jordan Pace stated, “The goal with this bill is to say, ‘If this was South Carolina taxpayer money, then the way we should appropriate it is to give it back to the taxpayers in South Carolina.'”
The rebate bill requests that the Department of Revenue spend the money to provide 2023 taxpayers with a one-time payment. The total amount in the taxpayer rebate fund multiplied by a fraction depending on the taxpayer’s income tax liability would equal the amount of each rebate.
The checks will be issued before the end of the year if the test is passed.
Some senators argue that since it’s unclear where the $1.8 billion originated from and whether it was actually taken out of taxpayers’ wallets, the money’s fate shouldn’t be decided just yet.
“The difference is we know, the ownership of the other money that is there, we just haven’t been able to identify the $1.8 billion ownership, whether it’s federal funds, whether it should be in the unemployment insurance trust fund,” state Senator Larry Grooms stated to Queen City News. “But if there’s those that want to get that money without understanding the exact ownership of it or the original appropriation, then maybe they should just rebate all of the state treasury $60 billion that make for a much larger rebate check.”
“The main question is, ‘Is the money real? Does it actually exist?’ There’s still some question behind that,” Grooms continued.
Legislators have proposed creating a separate state auditory organization to guarantee some degree of independence and avoid conflicts of interest in order to avoid budgetary errors such as this one in the future.
In order to determine the rightful owner of the funds, the financial committee also suggested allocating $4.2 million for a forensic examination of the state treasury.
Read More: The Missing Billions: SC’s $1.8B Revelation
According to University of Tennessee at Martin financial literacy lecturer Alex Beene, lawmakers will continue to be concerned about where the money is coming from when they make decisions about the rebate bill.
South Carolinians may see a major financial boost if the rebate receives the necessary votes to pass, which would be helpful as they continue to deal with inflation and economic instability.
The 12 months that ended in March saw 3.5 percent inflation nationwide.
“The rebate would put more money in their pockets at a time when so many are struggling with the additional costs inflation has brought,” Beene stated. “If the money is there and it isn’t discovered to already be misappropriated, a rebate is the right call.”
