The S.C. House averted a fight Tuesday by adopting the Senate’s income tax cut for small businesses instead of the larger cut favored by Gov. Mark Sanford.

The House vote came after Sanford urged Speaker David Wilkins late last week to back off its larger tax cut, even though Sanford himself listed it as his top legislative prize.

Sanford released a written statement after the vote vowing not to give up on more sweeping tax cuts next year.

The move surprised many in the General Assembly, who had expected the bill to land in a conference committee where lawmakers would work out the differences between the two plans.

“We did what the governor asked us to do,” Wilkins said after the unanimous House vote to adopt the Senate version. “We would have gone to conference committee to see if we could have gotten more.”

The bill, which heads to the governor’s desk, would lower taxes on small business profits to 5 percent from 7 percent. That would bring them in line with what large corporations pay.

The House plan was far more aggressive and would have applied to individuals falling into the state’s top 7 percent tax bracket. Income taxes for them would have been reduced to 4.75 percent over a decade.

Many in the Senate were concerned that the plan would cost the state too much in tax revenues, an estimated $1 billion by 2015. The version limited to small businesses is expected to cost the state $129 million over four years.

Two credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, also warned that the larger cut could jeopardize the state’s Triple-A credit rating.

Greenville accountant June Lennon said the targeted tax cut approved Tuesday will be a boon to many businesses, including her own.

“Because of the cut, we’ll probably be upgrading a lot of our computer equipment,” Lennon said. “People get blinders on when they think about tax cuts being expensive, but this will put money back into the economy.”

Some House members said they were fearful both plans would fizzle in the bargaining process if they didn’t sign off on the Senate plan.

“I’ve been on too many conference committees where we went home without a law,” said House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg.

Sanford’s belated embrace of the smaller, targeted cut was followed by a statement painting the House vote as a political win.

“Three years ago, nobody in state government was talking about income tax relief,” the statement said. “Today, we’re providing it to a vital sector of our state’s economy. That’s an accomplishment I’m obviously very pleased with.”

Sanford also said he was “disappointed” with the Senate and thanked Wilkins and other House members who passed the larger cut in February.

Supporters of the Sanford plan say they’ll wait until next year to broach the subject again. Some, including Wilkins, say they’ll focus the rest of this session on property tax relief.

Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, doled out some unsolicited advice to the governor.

“If he was smart, he would just declare victory,” said Smith, who favored the Senate tax cut. “Honestly, support for his plan was weak in the first place. It’s dead for good now.”

Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or jstensland@thestate.com.