(Columbia) -- Governor David M. Beasley today urged the South Carolina Senate to join the fight to cut taxes on cars and trucks.

"We need to remember who's money we're spending. It's not ours. It's the taxpayers'," Governor Beasley said at a news conference. Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler -- who has lent his support to a car tax cut bill now pending in the Senate -- House Speaker David Wilkins and Republican lawmakers who support cutting car taxes were also present at  the news conference.

Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate has yet to pass any comprehensive plan to cut car taxes. Leaders in the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, have so far expressed opposition to real cuts in car taxes.

"Certainly the Senate may have differences with the details of the House plan. That's fine," the Governor said today. "But I'm asking that whatever you do, senators, don't just duck and run on this issue. Turn, and answer the will of the people."

Taxes on cars and trucks in South Carolina are the third highest in the nation. Governor Beasley called for the elimination of the car and truck tax earlier this year in his State of the State speech.

Together with the General Assembly, Governor Beasley has pushed through nearly $1 billion in tax cuts during the first three years of his administration. If his proposed budget for next year becomes law, the tax cut figure will exceed $1 billion.

The Beasley tax cut record includes eliminating school operating taxes on homes worth $100,000 or less, increasing tax credits for families with children under six, lowering taxes for senior citizens and allowing businesses to write off more of their equipment costs.

Governor Beasley said South Carolina's economic growth makes car tax cuts affordable. "And I don't know about you, but I care a whole lot more about helping the family budget than I care about padding government's pockets," Beasley said.