Amazon and SUTA. Timing Descrepency?

Ok. So the highest tax increase in SC HISTORY is placed in people hands January 31st with a form letter from SC DEW. A tax that will kill WAY MORE than 2000 jobs. And yet we still have no relief and the relief that MIGHT be coming is far below the relief that was needed at the outset. I won’t state my long arguements regarding the ineptness of the new tax structure. You can read down through some of my other blog posts to get that.

But we get quick action on Amazon.

But how the heck can the state reverse and vote this quickly on the Amazon deal and not provide an equal amount of speed to existing businesses in SC killed by the SUTA increase? Everyone agrees we as a state look rediculous in how we have handled the Amazon fiasco. Between that deal and the increase in SUTA rates (which places us as one of the highest tax collectors in the country) we will be lucky to get a side ways glance from new businesses looking at our state.

And we used to dominate attracting new business. I miss that. It was fun knowing that companies looked at South Carolina and said “great business climate lets settle there”. I am afraid we are losing that. Higher taxes. Inconsistent messages sent to new businesses looking at us.

Three weeks ago I was in Mississippi and they were TRIPPING over themselves to attract us there. So is Alabama. Lets look at why those states are better? WAYYYY lower workers comp. Our system here is one of the worst in the Southeast. People game our system repeatedly. Heck, half the senate and house is made up of lawyers. See if that gets changed the way it needs to. Health insurance. We have some of the most protected health insurance companies in the country. We need more COMPETITION there. SUTA. Second highest in the country. SECOND.

I still believe we can turn this thing around. But we need to get on it. We need to believe what we have always said made us good. Be Pro-business, get more BMW’s here into the state and we will rock. I guarantee it.

Herb Dew