Claims on eliminating corporate taxes questioned

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Gov. Nikki Haley insists that South Carolina’s corporate income tax must be eliminated to help lure jobs to the state.

But the state’s 5 percent tax rate on corporations is already the lowest in the Southeast and among the lowest in the nation. Asked why eliminating it would help attract jobs, Haley said the state recently lost a company to Florida, which she said doesn’t have the tax.

Actually, Florida’s corporate tax rate is 5.5 percent. Florida has no personal income tax.

The states that don’t tax corporations are Nevada, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation says Ohio, Texas and Washington lack a corporate income tax, but they have a gross receipts tax.

Experts expressed doubts that ending the tax would make a big impact in South Carolina.