SC Capitol Building
The South Carolina Senate voted yesterday to approve an amended version of H. 4216, tax reform legislation passed by the South Carolina House of Representatives last year that would put the state’s income tax on the path to elimination. Before passage, South Carolina Senators amended H. 4216 so that it would result in a larger immediate rate cut.
The House-passed version of H. 4216 moves South Carolina from a progressive income tax with a top rate of 6.0 percent, to a top rate of 5.39 percent next year, which would be phased down to a flat 1.99 percent income tax rate over the next five years. The Senate amended H. 4216 so that the top rate will fall farther next year, to 5.21 percent rather than 5.39 percent. “Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, proposed the amendment, asking the Senate to speed up the top rate cut from the original 5.39% to now 5.21% — a shift that was expected in Year 2 of the proposed law — to lessen the immediate impact on certain taxpayers,” South Carolina Public Radio reported following the bill’s passage.
H. 4216 now goes back to the South Carolina House, who will either decide to concur with the changes or move to a conference committee. If enacted, H. 4216 would give South Carolina the lowest flat income tax rate in the nation.
