Nikki Haley

Tax Reform

Our tax system as currently constructed isn’t working – not for individuals, not for families, and not for businesses. For too long we’ve come at tax policy with a Band-Aid approach: see a problem, patch the problem, forget the problem. That’s a terrible way to go about things, as inevitably it creates holes and shifts the burden from one group to another. Far too often those that end up shouldering that burden are our small businesses, those same small businesses that drive South Carolina’s economy. We need a top-to-bottom overhaul of our system that starts with looking at the true cost of every single tax and fee we impose on our citizens and ends with South Carolina families and businesses keeping more of what they earn. The first two tax reforms I will push are the elimination of the small business and personal income taxes.  When South Carolina stops punishing our business owners and individuals for their successes and instead starts to reward them, they will reinvest in our state, hire more workers, and our economy will start to move.

Government Spending

As a small businesswoman and accountant by trade – my first job was keeping the books for our family business when I was 13 – I understand that our focus has to be on reining in our spending. Government is not responsible in the way it handles taxpayer money, and as a result does a terrible job of protecting the wallets of the people and the bottom lines of businesses. Far too many politicians don’t understand the value of a dollar, nor do they understand that this money does not belong to elected officials but to the citizens who pay it. Government needs to be accountable to those citizens and spend taxpayer dollars efficiently and effectively.

Right to Life

I believe every life has a value and is blessed by God – my husband was adopted and my pro-life convictions stem from the fact I feel the blessings of that value every day knowing someone chose life for him. I see it every day in my two children as I watch them grow. My hope is that we continue to encourage and work towards educating that value of life to everyone.

Government Reform

We live in the 21st century and yet our state government still operates under a 19th century structure and mentality. It’s a problem that infects our state at so many different levels, whether it be the fact that we have multiple agencies and programs doing the same thing and wasting tax dollars or that our state is so legislatively dominated that we don’t have a single person to hold accountable for the problems we’re facing. When we restructure our state government and make it accountable to the people, two things will happen: no longer will decisions be made in back rooms by a select few, and the finger pointing and evasion of political responsibility will have to stop. South Carolina simply cannot compete in today’s ever-changing world under this backwards system, and I am more determined than ever before to usher in the changes the people of this state both need and deserve.

2nd Amendment

Few things are as clearly defined as the right of individual Americans to own and use firearms. The right to bear arms was deemed so critical by our Founders that they spelled it out in absolute terms, and it is my belief that any governmental action that undermines that right is in turn undermining the very freedoms that built our great nation. I hold a Concealed Weapons Permit myself, and in this state we have issues that make it difficult for CWP holders to rightfully carry – we need to make the rules that govern carrying far more simple. As governor, I will continue to fight against any government infringement on the 2nd Amendment.

Education

I have two children in public schools and am fully invested in seeing the quality of our education improve not just for them but for all children in South Carolina. Our students deserve a government that is committed to actually improving our worst in the nation education system, not just throwing dollars at it. Money does not help a child if it has to go through thousands of bureaucrats and 85 school districts to get to the classroom. I went to a rural school in Bamberg where everyone took care of everyone else. I’ve lived in Orangeburg where teachers struggle so much with discipline they don’t have the opportunity to teach – and kids don’t have the opportunities to learn. And now I represent Lexington where every public school is like a private one. That disparity is wrong, any way you look at it. We owe it to every child in this state, no matter where they live, to make their education a priority and that means completely reforming our education funding formula.

Good Government

Government exists to serve the people, not the other way around, yet in South Carolina it often feels just the opposite. Despite a recent rule change that’s moving us in the right direction, our legislators still vote anonymously more often than not. We can’t go online and see how every one of our taxpayer dollars is being spent. We still don’t know how – and more importantly, by who – our legislators are being paid. And although our Governor is term limited, our legislators aren’t.

These changes are critical if we are going to reform a system of government that, in truth, serves the political class far better than it serves the people of our state.   As Governor, I will push for every single vote on the record, for all taxpayer dollars being listed online, for real income disclosures by all legislators, and for term limits.  When our elected officials know that the people can see what they are doing it will change the way they conduct business and the policy in this state will begin to move in a direction that we can all be proud of. I have fought and worked to bring accountability and transparency to government, and I won’t stop until sunlight shines on every part of the government process.

Economic Prosperity

Economic development is the most important issue facing our next governor. We have to make South Carolina a good place to own a business, and doing so starts with taking care of the businesses we already have. That means reforming our tax code – beginning with eliminating the small business income tax – so it’s flatter and fairer and no longer places so much of the burden on the small businesses that drive our economy. It means taking advantage of our tech schools and skilling the workers our employers need. It means fighting to preserve South Carolina’s status as a ‘right-to-work’ state. The truth – in spite of most politicians trying to convince you otherwise – is governing isn’t rocket science, it’s just common sense. If the businesses in this state have cash flow and profit margins they will hire more people and our economy will grow, and it’s time we take the necessary steps to make that a reality. I will fight to make South Carolina a great place to own and run a business – only then will business outside of our state look to South Carolina as an attractive place to set up shop.