Thomas Paine, the author of "Common Sense" and other pamphlets during the American Revolution, wrote: "When a government is just, taxes are few." He believed the American Revolution was born of necessity because of heavy taxation. Only a revolution could create a government "less expensive and more productive."

Like Thomas Paine, I believe taxes that grow faster than the ability of taxpayers to pay are reprehensible. So do others. The Coalition Against Unlimited Spending, which is made up of seemingly disparate groups, was born of necessity. Members include the South Carolina Manufacturer's Alliance, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers (and its local affiliates), NoHomeTax.org and South Carolinians for Responsible Government.

Our tax burden has grown approximately 10 percent per year over the past decade and is now among the highest in the nation. This trend shows no signs of slowing down. The unfortunate truth is that local taxing entities (which include city government, county government and school districts) have undermined the intent of both the 1995 and 2006 property tax relief laws, resulting in an overall tax burden that South Carolina businesses and taxpayers cannot afford.

Despite these two legislative efforts to reduce our property taxes, individuals and businesses are paying more to government via increased millage, local option sales taxes and higher fees. According to a recent study by the South Carolina Policy Council, all but two counties have seen the total county, city and school district millage increase since statewide property tax relief was passed in 1995. Additionally, 28 out of the 29 counties that implemented a local option sales tax now have a higher millage rate than before the local option sales tax was increased. And already, close to 20 school districts have announced plans to increase their budgets in response to this year's tax relief plan.

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Too often, citizens do not realize just how much their tax burden is increasing. Permit charges, fees and small millage hikes are done with little to no public input. All taxpayers know is that somehow, they are spending more money on government than they used to, and have less left over for themselves.

Businesses are feeling the crunch, too, via tax shifts. The business community has said all along that shifting the tax burden will not result in a better deal for taxpayers. South Carolina businesses need capital to compete. We need to expand our existing companies and attract new ones to our state, which is made more difficult if our tax burden continues to grow. Higher tax burdens make manufacturing plants less competitive, and in this global economy, the tolerance for high taxes simply no longer exists, if it ever really did. The growing tax burden in South Carolina is seriously limiting the ability of businesses to expand, create new jobs and locate here.

For these reasons, CAUS is calling for substantive constitutional caps on local spending. We believe these caps should be based on statewide population growth plus personal income growth, and should only be exceeded in strict emergency situations as declared by the governor (such as a hurricane or other natural disaster).

Taxpayers have already seen what happens when relief is given by our General Assembly -- it is snatched away by the local governments. Without substantive caps, citizens and businesses will be stuck with a higher sales tax and a higher property tax bill.

We appreciate the good faith efforts of leaders in the General Assembly to pass tax relief legislation. However, the only way to protect taxpayers is to insist that government live within its means and not grow at a faster rate than income levels and population. We hope leaders in the General Assembly will move quickly to support constitutionally mandated spending caps to stop local governments from undermining the tax relief that citizens were promised.

Ours is truly a historic coalition in which business groups and taxpayer advocacy organizations have come together for the first time in recent memory. We are unified in support of the principle of real tax relief and unified in support of passing local spending caps.

No one wins when businesses and consumers have less money to spend. CAUS will be working hard to help solve the dilemma of an ever-increasing tax burden. We are committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure the citizens of South Carolina receive the tax relief they deserve, the business community is protected and that runaway spending is kept in check.

This effort is critical to the future of South Carolina -- a future in which the Coalition Against Unlimited Spending plans to play a major role.

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