Neither side won nor lost

Legal observers will be arguing for some time about who ‘‘won’’ and who ‘‘lost’’ the school funding lawsuit that was decided recently.

The public and the Legislature should not waste their time on that debate — nor should the state waste the taxpayers’ money appealing the ruling, which gave neither side a clear victory nor a clear loss.

It is too early to say precisely what Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr.’s ruling does and doesn’t mean.

But even as we sort through that question, lawmakers, plaintiffs and the people of South Carolina should start taking the steps he identified to meet our state’s constitutionally mandated requirement to provide every child with the opportunity to receive an adequate education. ...

Simply providing minimal opportunities won’t cut it in the 21st century. ...

If we want to compete in a global economy ... and start building an economy that can support a prosperous lifestyle, then we have to start working together to make sure that the kids in rural Clarendon County not only show up in first grade as prepared to learn as those in Richland 2, but also have books and teachers and classroom environments that are just as conducive to learning. The (Columbia) State

How not to implement a tax

Beaufort County’s 2.5 percent admissions tax is becoming a textbook example of how not to implement a new tax.

More than three months after businesses were supposed to start collecting the tax, county officials will hold two meetings aimed at eliminating confusion over the tax.

Forgive us as we state the obvious and note that this type of meeting should have been held before the tax went into effect Oct. 1. ...

The need to clarify comes after County Council was confused about exactly what it was taxing with the new law. They did not intend to collect the tax on club dues and amended the law Dec. 12. The tax is expected to raise about $1.75 million a year for the county’s road needs, including extending Bluffton Parkway. About 100 businesses received letters dated Dec. 16 from the county’s Business License Division notifying them of the new tax. The letters were written five months after County Council authorized the new fee and more than two months after it went into effect. Let’s hope businesses show a bit more initiative than the county and attend the meetings. The more businesses know, the more likely they are to collect the new tax.

And given past performance on business license enforcement, we don’t have high expectations for the county going after those not collecting the tax. We seem to be on the honor system around here.

The (Hilton Head) Island Packet