Immediate, Revenue-Neutral Plan to Spur Job Growth in South Carolina
COLUMBIA - At a State Capitol press conference today, Democratic candidate for Governor Dwight Drake unveiled a new legislative policy proposal to spur hiring and bring down unemployment in South Carolina.
The proposal, called the Back to Work Rebate Act, creates a simple, direct incentive for employers to hire South Carolinians who are out of work and receiving state unemployment assistance, by providing an immediate tax rebate to the employer.
Under the Back to Work Rebate Act, any South Carolina employer who hires a worker who has been on state unemployment rolls for 60 days or more will receive a one-year rebate equal to the amount of state income tax that would be paid on the employee's salary. Employers will collect the rebate by simply retaining the amount each quarter that would otherwise have been sent to the Department of Revenue for the employee.
The rebate is simple, providing a clear and easy-to-administer tax benefit for businesses creating jobs and hiring new workers.
It is immediate, allowing businesses to begin benefiting as soon as they hire new employees.
And it is revenue-neutral, bringing South Carolinians off state unemployment assistance and only rebating income taxes that would not have been collected anyway as long as the workers remained unemployed.
Drake was joined at the press conference by state Representatives Boyd Brown (D-Fairfield) and Bakari Sellers (D-Bamberg), who intend to introduce Drake's proposal as a bill in the legislature when the House returns to session on February 16th.
"We cannot afford to wait any longer to start fixing the problem of unemployment in this state," said Drake. "We must tackle the problems of this state head on and not wait around for committees or studies. With some 270,000 men and women out of work, families across South Carolina are suffering. We need less talk and more results."
"When Dwight Drake came to me with this idea, I knew we could use it to do immediate good for the people of South Carolina," said Representative Brown. "I'm proud to be getting to work with Dwight on it right away, and I know it's one more sign of the get-it-done, jobs-first governor Dwight will be for our state."
"After years of failed leadership from our current Governor and a skyrocketing unemployment rate, the families of this state deserve better," said Representative Sellers. "Dwight's plan is simple, effective, and fiscally responsible - exactly the kind of leadership we need. I'm looking forward to joining him in getting this done."
Drake, who has served as a senior aide under two South Carolina Governors and has played a leadership role in attracting and fostering South Carolina business successes such as BMW and Boeing, released his comprehensive jobs plan earlier this year. The plan can be read and downloaded at http://www.dwightdrake.com/jobs. It includes targeted tax policies to grow jobs, and the Back to Work Tax Rebate Act fits squarely into that mission.
"As Governor, jobs will be my number-one priority, but this state can't wait another year for action. So with the help of Representatives Brown and Sellers, we're going to get started on putting South Carolina back to work right away. We call on all Members of the General Assembly - Democrats and Republicans - to join Rep. Brown and Rep. Sellers in supporting this legislation. The sooner it is passed, the sooner we can start creating news jobs in South Carolina."
I was proud to be joined by state Representatives Boyd Brown (D-Fairfield) and Bakari Sellers (D-Bamberg) this afternoon to introduce my proposal for the Back to Work Tax Rebate. After our announcement the bill was introduced in the legislature as H. 4528.
