S.C. Is a ‘Low Tax State,’ Right? Wrong.
SOUTH CAROLINA IS A LOW INCOME STATE — SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT South Carolina politicos sometimes claim that ours is a “low tax state” and that it has the “lowest taxes in…
Fuzzy Math: The Gas Tax Debate’s Bad Numbers
WHY ARE PROPONENTS OF A GAS TAX HIKE RELYING ON SUCH BAD NUMBERS? The debate over roads and road funding, especially as it’s taken place inside the State House over…
A Crackdown on Accommodations Tax “Evaders”
LAWMAKERS’ ANSWER TO UNFAIRNESS: PUNISH MORE BUSINESSES, NOT FEWER Almost all forms of taxation raise the question of fairness. Why does one person pay a higher percentage of his or…
What Would the Founders Do about Our Income Tax?
WOULD THE FOUNDERS BE SATISFIED WITH JUST ‘SIMPLIFYING’ THE INCOME TAX CODE? Among the several tax-related bills we analyzed in our annual guide, The Best & Worst of the General…
South Carolina’s Uncompetitive Income Tax
HERE’S WHY WE’RE LOSING: OUR TAXES ARE HIGHER We’ve leveled a lot of criticisms at the South Carolina Department of Commerce over the last several years, and will no doubt…
S.C. Politicians’ Talking Points: Myths vs. Facts
NOTHING WRONG WITH MYTHS … JUST DON’T REPEAT THEM AS FACT Since the conclusion of the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers have been blasting out emails that boast of the year’s…
Reforms Pass in North Carolina … But Not Here
THE REASON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY It’s a tale of two legislative sessions. In one state, lawmakers passed significant tax reform that lowers tax rates across the board,…
Does S.C. “Live within Its Means”?
TECHNICALLY, YES. IN EVERY OTHER WAY, NO. Twenty-four billion is a large number. No one has ever seen 24 billion dollars all together, so it’s difficult to imagine an amount…
The House Tax Plan: True Reform or Something Else?
As we’ve reported in the past, South Carolina’s tax rates are among the least competitive in the nation. Middle class families pay an inordinately high top rate, manufacturers are crippled…
A Tale of Two Tax Proposals
WELL, WHICH IS IT? Despite lawmakers’ disingenuous claims that South Carolina has some of the “lowest taxes in the nation,” the truth is that South Carolina taxpayers and businesses pay far too…
Our Tax Burden: The Nation’s Best – or Worst?
Legislative leaders are claiming that South Carolina “has the lowest state taxes in the nation.” If only it were true. Unfortunately the claim confuses tax collections and tax rates. It’s…
IRS Says $32,000 Qualifies as Wealthy
Citizens earning more than $32,879 rank amongst the wealthiest half of U.S. taxpayers and paid more than 97 percent of all income taxes in 2007, according to new IRS data…
Who Pays SC State Income Tax?
As South Carolinians across the state prepare for the April 15 tax filing deadline, a Policy Council analysis of the state income tax system finds that more than 30 percent…
South Carolina’s Built-In Income Tax Hikes
South Carolina’s income tax structure is antiquated. As salaries rise with inflation, the increased take-home income drives workers into higher marginal rates of taxation. This occurs even if a workers…
National Study Confirms: Taxes in South Carolina are High, Rising
In late April of 2007, the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, released a new report that detailed the rising burden of state and local taxation. The report found…
Don’t Fund Income Tax Stimulus with Corporate Tax Hikes
Don’t Fund Income Tax Stimulus with Corporate Tax Hikes By Burnet Maybank I was very pleased to read Governor Sanfords recent call for $205 million in income tax reductions.…