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| Cigarette and Income Taxes Face Challenges |
| (Columbia-AP) -- Governor Mark Sanford
knows he's got a lot of work ahead of him to win an income tax break
for South Carolinians as legislators face the toughest budget in
decades. Sanford's plan to cut income taxes from 7 percent to 5 percent moved forward in the Senate Finance Committee earlier this week. Those plans are tied to a 53-cent-a-pack tax increase on cigarettes and an overhaul of state Medicaid programs. The cigarette tax would raise 171 million dollars for state Medicaid programs facing a 212 million dollar budget shortfall. Sanford says he will be willing to make deals with legislators late in negotiations over the legislation but the debate is not at that stage yet. The governor is also trying to build relationships with legislators and spent time this week in the Statehouse lobby talking with them. But Sanford says he's got to spend time selling the tax plans to voters and connecting public support to action in the Legislature. |