The revenue picture for South Carolina grows ever rosier, and the extra $100 million in state revenues reported last week by the Board of Economic Advisors further bolsters Gov. Mark Sanford's longstanding call for tax relief. Unfortunately, House Budget and Control Board Chairman Dan Cooper apparently thinks the Legislature knows best how to spend the extra money.

In remarks quoted by The Associated Press, the governor's spokesman reiterated the call for tax relief saying, "Excess money ought to be returned to the taxpayer."

Certainly the taxpayer ought to expect relief when the revenue picture improves by the gaudy figure of $550 million. That's how much new revenue the state will receive this fiscal year, over the previous year, with the addition of the latest boost.

Gov. Sanford repeatedly urged the Legislature to approve some measure of tax relief during the recent session, but to little avail. Perhaps taxpayers should feel grateful for the weekend sales-tax holidays granted by the Legislature in August and November.

Rep. Cooper's remarks to The Associated Press give little reason to expect a shift by the leadership of the budget-writing committee. Surplus revenue, he said, "is returned to the taxpayer when it's used for construction projects or anything else. It goes back into the economy."

If Rep. Cooper's blithe assertion were followed to a logical conclusion, virtually any level of taxation would be allowable as long as members of the Legislature were dispensing the revenue according to their wisdom. Particularly troubling is Rep. Cooper's suggestion that "anything else" for which the Legislature is prepared to spend public money should be counted as a boon to the taxpayer. "Anything else" covers a lot of territory.

Higher than expected revenues shouldn't be viewed as an opportunity to spend at increasingly higher levels. A prudent Legislature will balance the necessity of providing state services and public works with the interests of the taxpayers who are picking up the tab.

South Carolina may be "in fat city right now," as a spokesman for the Board of Economic Advisors said, following the latest report. But that good news shouldn't be a signal for lawmakers to start making more big spending plans on pet projects or "anything else."