Congressman, S.C. retailers oppose tax incentive target Bass Pro

A South Carolina congressman and a local retail advocacy group are teaming up to oppose North Charleston's use of tax incentives to lure Springfield-based outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops to the coastal town.

Bass Pro confirmed in December it would build a 130,000- to 150,000-square-foot store in the Ingleside Plantation development, the Charleston City Paper reported. But that announcement came at a cost: The city of North Charleston promised the national retailer it would only have to pay half of the sales taxes it owes during the first 15 years of operation.

Last week, a public meeting at a local library brought out business owners organized as Lowcountry Local First, voicing outrage over the tax break permitted since a state law in 2006 authorized special incentives to “extraordinary retail establishments,” the paper said. It also brought out Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., who opposed the deal from a fiscal conservative standpoint.

The retail incentives became law when Sanford was South Carolina governor – a post he tarnished from an adulterous relationship made public after going AWOL from the state capital in 2009 and later admitting he was visiting an Argentine love interest, Maria Belen Chapur. She is now his wife, and Sanford’s political career bounced back last year when he won a tight congressional election. Sanford vetoed the retail incentive bill as governor, but lawmakers overrode his veto.

Last week, Sanford said he supports the use of tax incentives to attract unique manufacturing companies like Boeing and to compete with other states, but he opposes tax incentives for retail.

"You could argue that the Wal-Mart in Beaufort is an extraordinary retail location because there isn't a Wal-Mart in Hampton County, and in some cases people have to go 50 miles from the upper reaches of Hampton County to go to the Wal-Mart in Beaufort," Sanford said in the Charleston City Paper. "Is that extraordinary retail? I just think the definition gets watered down real fast."

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