Issue Position: Reduce government and lower taxes
Issue Position
Less spending and less red tape means more freedom and more jobs. As a fiscal conservative, I stand for lower taxes and limited government that's transparent and accountable to taxpayers. Our state government must be streamlined to end wasteful spending and save taxpayer money.Thomas Jefferson said: "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." I completely agree!
South Carolina does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. State spending increased by nearly 30 percent from 2010 to 2011 to a record high budget of $22 billion. A priority must be to adopt meaningful state spending caps.
I've signed both the S.C. Association of Taxpayers and Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledges to oppose any and all tax increases.
Fees amount to $7 billion of the total state budget. These hidden taxes have been surging because state agencies have the authority to increase them without specific legislative approval. The General Assembly must rein in these increases by providing effective oversight over these revenues.
We have the highest manufacturing property tax in the nation- national average: 1.42 percent; South Carolina's effective rate: 3.73 percent. To be competitive in attracting new businesses and jobs to this state, these rates must be lowered.
One of the best things we can do to create jobs in South Carolina is to eliminate the state income tax, especially on businesses through the S.C. Fair Tax Act. It will make South Carolina much more competitive in attracting businesses to the state, help existing small businesses, provide needed simplification of the state tax code, and broaden the tax base.
S.C. Fair Tax legislation would end the taxation of business profits and the earnings and income of state workers. The state income tax would be replaced by a 6 percent state sales tax collected only on new goods and services at the point of retail sale. Businesses selling goods to other businesses for the production of goods or services and used goods would not be taxed.
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