Helping Companies Create Jobs in South Carolina
Our shared conservative philosophy dictates that the only thing government should do to create jobs is get out of the way of business and do whatever is necessary to help the private sector create those jobs.
The House Republicans took two major steps in that direction this week with the passage of two pieces of landmark legislation the end of the corporate income tax in our state, and true tort reform.
My Republican colleagues have worked for years to improve the business climate here in our state, and as our state climbs out of recession, we are seeing the fruit of our labors. Last falls announcement that Boeing was locating a major manufacturing facility in North Charleston was a boon for the coast. Proterras’ decision to make a revolutionary new bus in Greenville was a second major boost for our economy.
But we can’t rest on those laurels. Every day, businesses looking to relocate examine the business climate in South Carolina versus other states and other countries around the world. Every day, one of your neighbors starts a new company that they hope will bring their family financial security.
If our jobs bill is approved by the Senate, the phased-in elimination of the corporate income tax means South Carolina would become the fifth state to completely eliminate the corporate income tax (joining Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, and Nevada).
The elimination of the tax is a major step in allowing corporations, large and small, to put money back into their businesses. This will make it easier to grow and expand, hire more workers, and become the next great corporation. Democrats criticized it as only helping large corporations, but with the ease and low cost of starting a corporation these days, many people running companies as small as one employee are corporations. This bill will start putting money back into their pockets.
Critics also claimed during the debates this week that the House hasn’t done enough for small businesses. They couldn’t be more wrong. The Tort Reform bill we approved on Wednesday will help small businesses even more than large corporations.
Many small businesses operate in fear of an unfounded lawsuit that could sink their company. They can’t afford a legion of attorneys to protect them. A single unfounded lawsuit could cripple your local boutique owner, the bike shop on the corner, or your favorite family-owned restaurant. Tort reform will protect them and hopefully bring down the cost of the insurance they carry.
The bill also protects you. It still ensures you have the right to litigate if you have been hurt through no fault of your own and will allow you fair compensation for any damages inflicted on you. Our legal system needs to protect everybody. It’s too bad that some people out for a quick buck could destroy years of your neighbors hard work.
Both of these pieces of legislation will help every business in South Carolina grow faster as the economy begins its recovery. That will create jobs and ensure that our business community whether it is Boeing or your favorite local Italian restaurant will remain strong through the next inevitable downturn.
That will make South Carolina a better, more stable place to live and work in the long term.
As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 803 734 3008 or keithkelly@schouse.gov.
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