Joe Wilson

Congressman Joe Wilson is making his rounds throughout the Lowcountry Thursday, talking jobs as part of a two-day tour.

Congressman Joe Wilson spent the morning with community and business leaders in Jasper County as part of what he’s calling the “Joe Means Jobs” tour. He’s promoting legislation aimed at cutting taxes and creating jobs.

“I’ve been working with Congressman Jack Kingston,” said Congressman Wilson. “We have a bill that provides for tax cuts, provides for the expenses of equipment so small businesses can buy equipment, create new jobs by being more competitive.”

And that’s something many small business owners in attendance say would be a big help.

“It’s big because we can throw that money back into our companies, create more jobs, have more assets on hand. In order to create more jobs, you have to have assets in order to use them,” said Gary Mazzanna, owner of Mazzanna Landscaping.

Chandler Lloyd, the owner of Able Contracting in Ridgeland agrees. In the past two years he’s gone from employing 60 people to 17 and his business, which recycles, produces and hauls construction material has dropped 75 percent.

“When you invest in this equipment, the crushers we use, they’re half a million dollars plus tractor trailers, a nice tractor trailer is 200-thousand so oh yeah that would help,” said Lloyd.

He says one of his biggest obstacles right now is regulations at the banks and would like to see banks freeing up more money to help business owners like himself.

In the mean- time he and many others in the area are hoping Sembler’s plans for a luxury mall in Jasper County will come through.

“All of those industries would use our services some with the part, there would be concrete laid, asphalt laid and then you have tradesman to go to work,” said Lloyd. “You need jobs but in order to have jobs you have to have work..

Work that is much needed for every county in South Carolina.

The legislation Congressman Wilson is pushing includes increasing the child tax credit to $5,000, along with a 5 percent across the board income tax cut. It would allow small businesses a tax deduction of 20 percent of their income and would make all withdrawals from IRA’s tax and penalty free.

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