Governor Nikki Haley (R) of South Carolina has proposed the elimination of South Carolina’s 6 percent income taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. bracket in her FY2014-2015 budget proposal. The 6 percent bracket is on incomes between $11,520 and $14,400 for the 2014 tax year. Reducing the tax rate on that income segment from 6 percent to 5 percent is expected to give taxpayers about $29 in tax relief each, and to reduce state revenues by about $26 million.
Those are small effects by any measure, and the reason is that South Carolina has three more tax brackets lower than the 6 percent bracket, and another 7 percent bracket one above it at $14,400. It’s a narrow bracket covering very little income. Indeed, South Carolina manages to have a “progressive” income tax code with five brackets, and yet the topmost bracket kicks in below the poverty line, at just $14,400, making the top rate of 7 percent the relevant rate for most households. This cluster of needless brackets adds complexity to South Carolina’s tax code, and creates work disincentive effects for the poorest South Carolinians.
|
South Carolina Income Taxes, 2014 |
||
|
Rate |
On Income Over |
|
|
3% |
> |
$2,880 |
|
4% |
> |
$5,760 |
|
5% |
> |
$8,640 |
|
6% |
> |
$11,520 |
|
7% |
> |
$14,400 |
Source: South Carolina Department of Revenue
Thus, while Governor Haley’s proposed tax cut is very small in terms of the amount of tax relief it provides, it could serve a valuable purpose. North Carolina just flattened its income tax effective this year, with top rates at 5.8 percent, well below South Carolina’s top rate. South Carolina used to have lower rates than North Carolina, which had a top rate of 7.75 percent: but now the tables are turned.
Governor Haley’s bracket elimination proposal is a step in the right direction towards a flatter tax code, like what North Carolina has adopted. However, it’s just a very small step, and it won’t be enough for South Carolina to catch up with the Tarheel State; not unless South Carolina policymakers are willing to reach for a bigger reform than eliminating just one bracket. Indeed, if South Carolina were to eliminate all of their lower brackets, they could conceivably then lower the top rate and create a revenue-neutral proposal with approximately similar distributional effects as the current system.
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