Comprehensive Tax Reform Passes State Senate

STATE SENATOR HUGH LEATHERMAN

Members of the Press – Today the State Senate passed Senator Leatherman’s TRAC bill on third reading. Below is the release sent yesterday about second reading passage. The bill was not amended on third reading and now heads to the House for debate.

- Wesley

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wesley Donehue
843.460.7990 | wesleydonehue@gmail.com

Comprehensive Tax Reform Passes State Senate

Leatherman TRAC Plan Will Help Grow South Carolina’s Economy

Columbia, SC – February 26, 2009 – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman along with bi-partisan leadership from Sen. Nikki Setzler, today ushered through the State Senate a plan to review South Carolina’s tax code and make recommendations to overhaul it in order to bring about strong economic growth.

Economic problems continue to rock the nation, but South Carolina continues to be hit especially hard as we now have the third highest unemployment rate in the nation at 9.5%. Many are blaming South Carolina’s antiquated and piecemealed tax structure as the primary cause of our state’s woes. Called “loophole-riddled” and a “special-interest driven tax system” by The State newspaper, the tax code is an obstruction to economic growth in South Carolina.

Senator Leatherman’s Tax Realignment Commission (TRAC) plan is modeled after the federal BRACC program. In an attempt to overhaul the tax code while removing the political pressures from the process, an independent commission of financial and economic experts will be created to assess the effectiveness of the current tax system structure and to provide recommendations for changes to the General Assembly. This plan will alleviate the concerns of politics dictating tax policy.

Senator Hugh Leatherman, Chairman of Senate Finance Committee noted, “I am very pleased with the passage, on second reading, of the TRAC legislation today by the Senate. I thank the Members of the Senate for a healthy debate and for passage of the bill. I also thank Sen. Setzler for his leadership on the design and passage of the bill. I believe that the creation of this commission is the best way for South Carolina to re-vamp our outdated tax laws. We must take a serious look at how our tax code works and this commission will be the most effective way for us to do just that. I look forward to final passage in the days to come.”

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