Seniors shouldn't have to pay this tax, SC governor candidate says

The day after Gov. Henry McMaster said he wants across-the-board cuts to the state income tax, one of his GOP primary opponent countered with a plan to eliminate the tax entirely for some taxpayers.

Former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill, R-Williamsburg, released a plan Monday to eliminate the state income tax for seniors over the age of 65.

McGill, a former Democrat and state senator, is trailing in the polls to be the 2018 Republican nominee. But McGill thinks the recently passed federal tax plan gives South Carolina a “gift-wrapped” opportunity to shake up the state’s tax code.

Because the IRS now will cap federal deductions for state taxes at $10,000, “the citizens of ... ‘high tax states’ who are at or nearing retirement age will have an incentive to move and become residents of ‘low tax states,’ like South Carolina,” McGill said, announcing the proposal.

Rather than just “catering to out-of-staters,” McGill said his proposal to eliminate the state income tax from seniors also could stop S.C. residents from moving to states like Florida that have no income tax at all.

Last week, McMaster also proposed eliminating the state income tax on the retirement income of all military and law enforcement retirees, including firefighters and first responders.

“My proposal gives immediate relief to all current residents sixty-five and older by eliminating the state income tax altogether,” McGill said.

As lieutenant governor for a brief period in 2014, McGill oversaw the state’s Office on Aging, tasked with providing services to the state’s senior citizens.

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Seniors shouldn't have to pay this tax, SC governor candidate says."