SC House Republicans Announce Focus on Taxes, Jobs

The South Carolina House Republican Caucus announced its agenda for the year Wednesday, saying if it's successful getting its bills through the Statehouse, it would mean lower taxes and more jobs for the state.

The House GOP agenda is for comprehensive tax reform, strengthening the state's right-to-work law, a financially sound state retirement system, cementing the state's "First in the South" presidential primary, and pushing through the Senate the bills the House passed last year.

"All of those items impact businesses and their ability to want to come and invest in the state," says Rep. Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington, House Majority Leader.

Republicans say comprehensive tax reform is their top priority. A study committee chaired by Rep. Tommy Stringer, R-Greer, has been meeting for months, looking at the entire tax code. It will be introducing a bill in the next few weeks that would eliminate or change many of the current sales tax loopholes.

For example, right now there's a $300 sales tax cap on vehicles in South Carolina, so regardless of how expensive the car, truck, boat or plane you buy, you'll pay no more than $300 in sales tax. The study committee is recommending that the cap be raised to $1,200. Other tax exemptions would be eliminated completely.

But Stringer says the bill would also lower the overall sales tax rate. "We are keen on making sure that this is not a tax increase," he says. "So we are proposing that whatever sales tax exemptions are eliminated, there will be a corresponding sales tax rate decrease as an offset, 'cause we do not want to raise taxes on individual taxpayers, especially during a volatile economy."

Many of you have posted on 7 On Your Side's Facebook page that you think jobs ought to be state lawmakers' top priority. House Republicans say this agenda is all about creating jobs.

Rep. Bingham says comprehensive tax reform will be about more than just eliminating some sales tax exemptions. "As a result of that, we'll be able to flatten our income tax brackets. We'll be able to lower the overall state sales tax. We'll be able to reform business property taxes and we'll be able to lower the burden on small businesses," he says.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell says even passing a law to make sure the state's presidential primary remains first in the South would help the economy. "Those folks spent so much money in South Carolina while they were here, we want to make sure that continues," he says.

He says the Republican presidential primary in January, and all the attention being focused on it, is why the House GOP waited until now to announce its agenda.