| Sanford's Plan to Lower Income Tax Approved |
| (Columbia) Governor Mark Sanford's plan to
lower the state's income tax was approved by a subcommittee
Wednesday and will go to the House Ways and Means Committee next
week. The Republican governor's plan calls for the state to spend $7 million on the tax cut beginning in January 2006. It would be part of a six-year initiative to bring the top income tax rate down to 4.75% from 7%. The bill died in a Senate committee last year, but a healthier economic outlook has state lawmakers more optimistic about the bill. The governor says lower tax rates are critical with international trade cutting into U.S. jobs and to improving the bottom lines of small businesses. Critics say the state needs to focus on paying for its services, such as Medicaid and public education, before it starts taking money out for this tax break. |