Rating South Carolina: Pensions, Elections, & Roads. Oh my!

Quality of Life
Blog · June 19, 2025

At Palmetto Promise Institute, we are big on ratings and rankings. If done properly, a grade or score in a policy area can help a state know where it stands on freedom issues and how efficiently and effectively that state spends taxpayer dollars. Comparisons to neighboring states can be particularly useful. Trusted national organizations produce

Economic Impact Analysis: House Republicans’ Income Tax Plan Will Boost SC Economy

Tax & Budget
Blog · May 6, 2025

Palmetto Promise Institute, in collaboration with The Buckeye Institute, has conducted an economic impact study on the newly amended H.4216, a proposal by the state’s Republicans leaders to move South Carolina’s highest-in-the-southeast income tax to two tiered rate of 5.39% and 1.99%, based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Our findings show how South Carolina’s economy

Money is Stampeding into Florida But Trickling into South Carolina…Palmetto State Must Cut Income Tax to Compete

Tax & Budget
Blog · April 23, 2025

Over ten years ago, Travis Brown wrote How Money Walks: How $2 trillion Moved Between States, and Why it Matters. In the foreword, legendary economist Dr. Art Laffer summarized it as a study of “the migration of working wealth as a direct result of personal income tax rates…” Based on IRS tax return data, Brown

RELEASE: Passage of Tax Bill to Grow SC GDP by a Quarter Billion Dollars in First Year Alone

Tax & Budget
Blog · April 10, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLUMBIA, SC — A new economic impact study by the Palmetto Promise Institute and the Buckeye Institute predicts that passage of the Republican income tax bill (H.4216) could expand South Carolina’s economy dramatically.   According to Zachary D. Cady, Associate Economist at the Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, analysis of the bill found

New Economic Impact Analysis Finds Tax Cut Plan Juices SC Economy

Tax & Budget
Blog · April 9, 2025

Palmetto Promise Institute, in collaboration with The Buckeye Institute, has conducted an economic impact study of H.4216, a proposal by the state’s Republicans leaders to move South Carolina’s highest-in-the-southeast income tax to a flat 3.99% rate, based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Our findings, detailed below, show how South Carolina’s economy would benefit from the

No tax bill is perfect. But this one nearly is. Here’s why…

Tax & Budget
Blog · April 2, 2025

As a CPA and tax professional with over 30 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how tax policy impacts people’s lives, businesses, and the broader economy. That’s why I strongly support the proposed income tax cut (H.4216) currently under consideration in South Carolina.  Is it perfect? No. But it’s a strong, responsible step in the