COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate started debating a budget Tuesday that accelerates a planned income tax cut instead of the House plan to use $500 million to give homeowners a one-time property tax rebate.
Once the spending plan passes the Senate, a group of three House members and three senators — likely including the leaders of each chamber’s budget committee — is going to have to sort out the differences over the next month or so with the tax break and other items in South Carolina’s $15.4 billion spending plan for next budget year.
Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler has called the competing tax breaks a wonderful problem to have in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget, which again left lawmakers with a substantial pot of additional money to spend.
But Peeler has left little doubt he thinks spending $100 million to knock the income tax rate most people pay in the state from 6.3% to 6.2% is the right move, saying it lasts forever compared to a one-year drop in property tax. The state is in the middle of a five-year effort to cut its top income tax rate from 7% to 6%.
REVEALED: Details of bitter feud between Maine $1.3B lottery winner and his warring family
Giancarlo Stanton proves he's King of Swing in MLB's latest metric advancements
Arab League welcomes UN resolution backing Palestine's bid for membership
Sarah Ferguson dons traditional Bavarian dirndl to attend her nephew Seamus's wedding in Germany
Joint streaming venture involving ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Venu Sports
Hong Kong calls for respect of its overseas
Melinda French Gates resigns from Gates Foundation
Feds accuse Rhode Island of warehousing kids with mental health, developmental disabilities
Scottie Scheffler arrested at PGA Championship, returns to course
Emily Ratajkowski dazzles in plunging spiral print dress at the 2024 Whitney Gala
Michael Jordan weeps during grand opening of his third clinic with his mom in North Carolina