By Mike Fitts
mfitts@scbiznews.com
Published June 23, 2010

Gov. Mark Sanford is slated to sign the Economic Development Competitiveness Act at a ceremony this afternoon in Greenville.

The governor sees the bill as containing several positive economic development measures, said Sanford spokesman Ben Fox. He will sign it despite the removal in the Legislature of one measure he wanted: an end to corporate income tax. Senators in particular believed the state’s fiscal crisis precluded ending the tax now.

The bill has been shaped by input from Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor and the private sector. It includes “many small steps in the right direction,” Fox said.

Among the measures the governor liked was an effort to help reduce the effective property tax rate on manufacturers. The bill will make manufacturers in the state eligible for a reassessment of their property, said Burnie Maybank, an attorney with Nexsen Pruet. Manufacturing facilities tend to lose value over time, and allowing reappraisal will let tax bills drop to reflect that.

It also makes an investment tax credit available statewide. Previously, about half of the state’s counties allowed this, not including those in the Upstate, Maybank said.

The bill, which was backed by House Speaker Bobby Harrell, contains no major new incentives, because of the shortage of state money, Maybank said.

According to Fox, the governor also likes the changes being made to the S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence program. Under the bill, one-third of the endowed chairs money now will be administered by the Coordinating Council on Economic Development, rather than a separate academic panel. Supporters have said this move will tie the funds more directly to the state’s economic efforts, especially big new investments.