When citizens debate the dreaded subject of taxes, the conversation nearly always revolves around individual income taxes. This was a hot topic in the 2025 South Carolina General Assembly. Yet, behind the scenes, another stealthier tax is quietly shaping the state’s economy just as powerfully: the manufacturing property tax. South Carolina has historically lived on
BMW’s massive Spartanburg plant has something special under the hood. Powering its plant includes a system that reduces reliance on an already overtaxed energy grid. So why have you never heard about it? And more importantly, is it just a virtue-signaling venture, or is it a small glimpse into the future of independently produced power
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law what may be the most significant federal school choice measure in American history. This new law, which includes Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code, creates a permanent federal tax credit for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). And it is nothing short of a game-changer.
In May 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping policy package that includes the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), a $5 billion annual tax credit scholarship program that could significantly expand educational freedom for families across the country. This legislation, long championed by parents and
When most South Carolinians think about state income taxes, they imagine filing a single return. Yet, for the estimated 200,000 residents who cross a state line to earn their paycheck, and the 121,000 non-residents who work in-person in South Carolina, the reality of tax season is a little more complicated. These citizens are often caught
This article was originally published in The Lion. Up to 10,000 South Carolina students will be eligible for school choice this fall after Gov. Henry McMaster signed legislation restoring and expanding the state’s previous program. The Palmetto State had a school choice program last year, but the state Supreme Court abruptly halted it in September, just weeks into the
H.4216 would set South Carolina’s individual income tax—currently at 6.2%—on a path to 0%. No state has eliminated its income tax in 45 years, but H.4216 would set South Carolina on the road to repeal. H.4216 would also shift South Carolina to a federal AGI-based income tax calculation. Flattening tax rates is the clear trend
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
This commentary by Palmetto Promise board chair Phil Hughes was originally published in the Post and Courier. From stem to stern, South Carolina’s lawsuit system is broken — and anyone who’s run a small business, owned a restaurant that offered alcohol or driven a truck knows it. Sky-high insurance rates, nuclear verdicts and the chilling
South Carolina’s electricity market is at a crossroads. Composed of utilities operating under a vertically integrated model with limited competition, the state faces growing pressure to reduce costs, find new generation, and ensure long-term grid reliability. While efforts like the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) have introduced modest reforms among a subset of utilities in
