Aside from wanting to reduce the top tax rate from 7 percent to 4.75 percent gradually, on par with what the administration failed to get passed last year, the governor is also trying to incrementally raise the state's tax brackets in line with the inflation rate.

The move would save taxpayers a good deal of dough, but at the same time could cut into state funds.

Here's why: The cutoff for the highest tax bracket is now a mere $12,300, not much higher than where it stood more than four decades ago when the tax law was enacted. That means anyone making more than $12,300 in taxable income is forced to pay 7 percent, one of the highest rates in the country.

By edging the bracket boundaries higher each year to match inflation, more taxpayers will qualify for lower rates and pay less. As it is today, the brackets only move up at half the rate of inflation.

"Because of this, over the past 10 years South Carolinians have paid an additional $45 million in income taxes," the governor's office says.

Lawmakers may resist this logic, however, because they count on those funds for state services and programs. In fact, the Legislature stopped short of going ahead with a likeminded plan in the mid-1990s precisely because it would cost the state too much.

For his part, Sanford is saying the changes will stimulate growth and only take place in years that state revenues are projected to increase.

IN-STATE SELECTION?

It's been well over two months since Ernst Csiszar, the state's former insurance commissioner, stepped down to take a job with a major trade group. The buzz in insurance circles since then has been rife with speculation over who the governor will appoint to replace him.

While on a swing through Charleston last week, Gov. Sanford was tight-lipped, saying only he was still reviewing a pile of resumes for the job and that Csiszar's shoes were going to be tough to fill. When asked whether he was going to select a South Carolinian for the job, Sanford replied he "ideally" preferred an in-state professional over bringing in an outsider. But, he cautioned, qualifications came first.

Csiszar, an unabashed supporter of deregulation, paved the way for landmark legislation that gaveinsurance companies more freedom in setting rates. Sanford signed and passed the bill into law, and whoever he chooses, it's likely from Sanford's comments that the new insurance head will bring along an industry background similar to Csiszar's.

JUST $1.2 MILLION TO GO

The group that markets the three-county region as a busi- ness destination is said it is get-ting a warm reception so far in its private-sector fund-raising drive

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance said last week that it had surpassed the $2 million mark in commitments from individuals and businesses throughout the three counties. The campaign, titled "Expanding Our Horizons," will continue throughout the remainder of the year.

The goal is $3.2 million.

Money raised by the campaign will be used to supplement the alliance's operating budget over five years.

The funding will help the group promote the region in order to attract new jobs, businesses and capital investment through brand-building, electronic marketing, direct sales and research.

The alliance also receives tax money from the three counties to fund its operating costs.

Currently, the group is working with Angelou Economics, an Austin, Texas-based economic development consulting firm, to develop its new five-year strategic plan.

The plan is scheduled to be ready in March 2005.

EAT YOUR VEGGIES

The French scientist who discovered the HIV virus may soon do some work with scientists from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Luc Montagnier, the president of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, was in Charleston last week to discuss a possible collaboration with two MUSC researchers: Dr. Sabastiano Gattoni-Celli, a radiation oncologist, and Dr. Mark Kindy, director of the university's Neuroscience Institute.

Montagnier first isolated the virus that causes AIDS in 1983 while with Institute Pasteur in Paris.

He now believes that his work on the AIDS virus has yielded important clues on a number of diseases. Speaking to students at MUSC Friday, he said that the HIV infection causes what is known as oxidation stress, which can lead to tissue damage.

Montagnier believes that oxidation stress, which can be caused by a number of factors like infection, chemicals or radiation, can exacerbate a number of diseases, including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

He believes that treating these diseases with anti-oxidants may slow the progression of some diseases.

Antioxidants include vitamins C and E, beta-carotine and selenium and can be found in many fruits and vegetables.

In other words: eat your broccoli.

Montagnier may work with Gattoni-Celli to look at oxidation stress in relation to prostate cancer.

South Carolina has a large population of African American men, who have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world. He may also work with Kindy on Alzheimer's, also a big problem in this state.

KNOWLEDGE PAYS

The New Economy is still the place to be, according to an annual wage survey released by the Charleston Digital Corri-dor.

The average income at the technology and "knowledge-based" companies that make up the corridor jumped almost 10 percent this year to $78,000. That's more than double the average South Carolina wage.

Paychecks have been pushed up by the advent of some new and successful companies, according to Ernest Andrade, the city economic development official who quarterbacks the corridor initiative.

Andrade also said the higher wages mean incumbent companies, on a whole, are doing better and rewarding their workers in turn.

Kirk King, CEO of the software company Carolina Systems Solutions Inc. and chairman of the corridor's foundation, said the wage survey is evidence that the corridor initiative is succeeding in terms of economic development.

"We are now starting to reverse the trend of stagnant rates in the region," King said.

Technology workers in Charles-ton are still relatively rare, though.

Corridor companies have just 2,340 people on their payrolls, about 1,900 of which work here.

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