SC's Tax Laws - A Competitive Advantage

South Carolina is about to begin studying the state's tax laws and exemptions. With one of the lowest per capita tax rates in the country along with a below national average cost of living, South Carolina definitely a competitive advantage.

So my question to you is this: How do you stimulate business to locate in South Carolina while keeping the state's needs funded with a more equitable tax formula?

More information on South Carolina's tax laws and exemptions can be found on the Moving to South Carolina brochure.

Agribusiness is SC's Largest Industry

The newest Ag Study has been published for South Carolina by the Palmetto Institute and again, Agribusiness, which includes forestry, is the largest industry in South Carolina. It’s pretty impressive to be number one two years in a row. The opportunities are so great for our agricultural industries; why is South Carolina only 26th in the nation in Ag Industry? Georgia is 10th and North Carolina is ranked 13th, in the study. What is so different between SC and our neighbors that they rank higher? What resources are they utilizing? What “next step” have they taken that SC should be taking?

Our different growers/ag resources/agribusinesses from across the state should band together as an agricultural community with the legislature, the growers and workers in each industry, and with the general public to move our industry forward. Having influence within our state government and making sure our voice is heard will be a strong step in the right direction.
Coordinated efforts shouldn’t stop there. We need to push for education innovation, energy development and marketing – all of which will benefit from each industry working together developing new products and training methods.

I would be remiss not to mention the urgent need for an immediate dedicated effort to coordinate agricultural economic development for South Carolina. Think in terms of complimentary industries and companies for our current farmers and agribusiness owners.

What are your thoughts on how SC can move forward on a national level?

Welcome to my blog

I’m Jack Shuler, president and CEO, of ArborOne Financial, a proud member of the Farm Credit System serving twelve counties in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina. I’ve been with ArborOne for over 20 years, and a part of Farm Credit for more than 35 years.

With this first company blog, I hope to offer insight and open the door for questions and comments about ArborOne. We have put together a think tank of employees exploring new media opportunities for our company – so watch for us to soon be on facebook and twitter, and visit our website http://www.arborone.com/ .

This is a great place for me to mention our upcoming Annual Stockholder’s Meeting being held next Thursday, April 30th, at our main office 800 Woody Jones Blvd, in Florence. The meeting is open to stockholders of ArborOne and will begin at 10am.

ArborOne was founded to serve farmers and rural America; this remains our focus and mission. The economic situation today is tough and agriculture is not immune. Because of the economy we are being more deliberate with our credit decisions and consequently, some loans are taking longer than we like to process. That said, ArborOne continues to lend money to farmers and has a capital position greater than two times the regulatory required minimum. We are strong and will be here for our customers.

In future posts I’ll talk more about who we are, what we do - about patronage, cooperative principles and share a few thoughts on what’s going on in agriculture and the economy.

So join our blog and let me know what’s on your mind. Thanks!