SC cleaner takes sales tax case to Supreme
Court
A drycleaner in South Carolina is hoping
that the state’s Supreme Court will revoke the sales tax
on drycleaning.
Ed Robinson, who operates five drycleaning
operations in the state, believes the 1959 law which permits
South Carolina’s five percent sales tax on drycleaning is
unconstitutional.
He contends that drycleaners are singled
out because other statewide service providing industries
— such as auto mechanics, barbers and doctors — are
not subject to the same sales tax.
“It’s a discrimination
tax,” he explained to a reporter from the web site The
State.com. “I’m not for increasing taxes, (but) if
every other service business were being charged the tax, that
would be fair.”
Robinson estimates that the tax currently
adds about 45 cents to the total cleaning cost of a men’s
two-piece suit.
He initially tried to persuade the
state’s legislature to repeal the tax in 1997. He filed a
lawsuit against the state on behalf of all South Carolina
cleaners four years ago, but a judge in Richland County
dismissed the suit.
In May, Robinson plead his case before the
state’s Supreme Court. A ruling is expected in the
future, but Robinson believes lawmakers won’t be
sympathetic because of South Carolina’s current budget
crisis.
The South Carolina Department of Revenue
noted that removing the sales tax could cost the state $6
million in annual revenues from approximately 800 drycleaning
businesses.
Officials from the Revenue Department
added that the sales tax is not discriminatory because some
service providers, such as cable television companies, have to
pay it, as well.
The agency also said that the lower court
ruled that a sales tax is permissible on drycleaning because,
unlike other service providers, cleaners are exempt from sales
taxes on the purchases of their machinery and supplies.
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Florida police investigate death of
cleaner
Officials from the Highlands County
Sheriff’s Office in Florida are investigating the alleged
murder of a 56-year-old cleaner who was discovered dead in the
back of her Feathers’ Dry Cleaning store in Lake Placid.
Police estimate that Feathers was killed
sometime before 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21. A customer
entered the store shortly before discovering her body and
called 911 at 9:32 a.m. that morning.
Strangulation was cited as the preliminary
cause of death. Though the motive for the crime remained
unclear, deputies immediately began the process of narrowing
down a list of possible suspects.
Friends and family described Feathers as
“the mother everybody wanted” and a “pillar
of strength and compassion. She had lived in Highlands County
for 30 years.
Feathers’ husband, Mel, spoke with a
reporter for the News-Sun in Highland County. “She was my
life. She was the nicest woman in the world,” he said.
“It’s like a nightmare. I’m hoping to wake
up.”
Anyone who can supply information that
will aid in the investigation are being asked to call Polk
County Crime Stoppers at (800) 226-TIPS (8477).
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