Reason #1 to cut (or eliminate) the income tax

The State newspaper this morning reports that South Carolina's per capita income continues to lag behind the rest of the country. This year our growth was 4.2%, a full point behind the national growth of 5.2%. South Carolina now boasts the 4th lowest per capita income in the nation, slipping from 6th worst a year ago. (Yep, another statistic to be proud of.)

I find it interesting (in a strange, crazy sort of way) that The State can report this statistic without bringing up the obvious reason behind the statistic - an income tax rate that ranks among the ten highest in the country. When you tax productivity and success, you lose business - it's really that simple. Yet we get caught up in the property tax debates and sales tax debates, and our legislature never gets around to cutting the one tax that has a direct impact on our ability to create wealth and jobs - the income tax.

Why do we think it is that we have none of the Top 100 companies in America headquartered in South Carolina? If we, for instance, want to become the haven for the energy companies, taking advantage of the Savannah River site's unique potential to generate hydrogen fuel, we have to have a tax structure that companies want to take advantage of. Or do you think Microsoft landing in Washington state was simply by chance? Washington state has no state income tax, preferring instead to rely on other, lower taxes and a robust economy. That's the formula for success.

What's worse, since no income tax cut is coming this year to stimulate our state's economy, we can already look forward to having this report be just as bad (or worse) next year. Hopefully those who are elected this fall will pay more attention next spring when this report resurfaces.

In the meantime, way to go guys, thanks for keeping us down - again.