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4/17/2007
Gov. Sanford: Senate Finance Budget Spending at Taxpayers' Expense
Governor Says Senate Finance Budget Favors Spending Rather Than Tax Relief
Columbia, S.C. - Today as thousands of South Carolinians file their state and federal income taxes, Governor Mark Sanford called on the Senate to put the brakes on overspending in the budget, and instead return more money to hardworking South Carolinians.
Last week, the Senate Finance Committee completed work on its budget, spending nearly all of the $1.3 billion in new money coming into Columbia this year, while only providing $40 million in tax relief to hard-working South Carolinians. By contrast, the governor's spending plan called for $205 million in income tax relief, while the House's spending plan called for more than $80 million in tax relief.
"As South Carolinians pay their taxes today, it's worth stopping to take note of what the budget in Columbia means to the average taxpayer," Gov. Sanford said. "Tax revenues are growing, which is a sign of things moving in the right direction with respect to the economy. But if we want these good times to continue, we've got to return more of those dollars to the wallets and pocketbooks of South Carolinians, where it can be used to grow the economy instead of growing government.
"Instead, this budget is a lot like the sequel to Jaws - just when you thought it was safe, we come to find out about things in the budget like nearly a million dollars for a bean museum. It seems some on Senate Finance have forgotten a few important principles when it comes to the idea of spending the people's money conservatively. One, while most people would think a 15 percent tip is good at a restaurant, Senate Finance is looking to return far less than that to taxpayers, to the tune of about three percent of new money dedicated to tax relief. Two, the growth in this budget is clearly unsustainable by any measure, as it is poised to grow government by double digits again this year after growing by 25 percent over the last two years -- all while the national economy is growing at around 2.5 percent. Three, this spending is putting us in real danger when it comes to taking care of political promises already made, as the budget isn't doing nearly enough to address our state's $9 billion unfunded retiree healthcare liability.
"The bottom line is that this budget creates a very real danger of taking us over a cliff with respect to spending. I'd urge conservatives in the Senate -- like Senators Ryberg, Grooms, Verdin, Peeler, Courson, and others -- and taxpayers across the state to make their voices heard on the need for more in the way of tax relief and less in the way of spending as this budget heads to the Senate floor."