Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Letters: SC legislators should stand up to auto dealers

Karolyn Stanley, who lives in the Triangle area, was almost 80 when she bought her first car recently at a Raleigh dealership. The customer service was so good that she wrote to N&O columnist Barry Saunders to share the story.
Karolyn Stanley, who lives in the Triangle area, was almost 80 when she bought her first car recently at a Raleigh dealership. The customer service was so good that she wrote to N&O columnist Barry Saunders to share the story. Ben Margot AP
Columbia, SC

The $300 sales tax cap on motor vehicles (soon to be $500) benefits the people who can most afford the tax and hurts those who can least afford it. Anyone who can only afford a $6,000 car will struggle to pay the $300 tax. Why not exempt the first $6,000 of a vehicle’s value and tax the rest, to help those less fortunate.

I recently asked a state legislator about this, and he said the automobile lobby was too strong to fight. I got no response when I asked, “What about the citizens lobby?”

Just who do they work for?

Our roads are both dangerous and embarrassing. I’m sure Carowinds has been getting concerned, because no ride there is as breathtaking as a ride on S.C. roads.

Harold McGaha

Prosperity

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