Despite claims by the architects of North Carolina’s failed tax-cut experiment, policy choices since 2013 have not ensured that middle and low-income taxpayers are paying lower shares of their income in state and local taxes. Instead the richest taxpayers—whose average income is more than $1 million—continue to pay 33 percent less in state and local taxes as a share of their income than taxpayers who have averages incomes annually of $11,000, a threshold that aligns with deep poverty.
ITEP Work in Action
Advocates and policymakers at the state and federal levels rely on ITEP’s analytic capabilities to inform their debates on proposed tax policy changes. In any given year, ITEP fields requests for analyses of policies in 25 or more states. ITEP also works with national partners to provide analyses of federal tax policy proposals. This section highlights reports that use ITEP analyses to make a compelling case for progressive tax reforms.
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ITEP Work in Action October 22, 2018 NC Policy Watch: North Carolina’s Tax Code Isn’t Helping the State’s Growing Inequality
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ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 NC Policy Watch: Low-income Tax Payers in NC Pay More of Their Income in State and Local Taxes Each Year Than the Richest Taxpayers
Sales taxes play a critical role in the regressive and consequently inequitable nature of the North Carolina tax system. Like most other states, North Carolina relies on sales and excise taxes (30.7% of the 2018-2019 approved budget) as a primary mechanism to raise revenue. However, in North Carolina, sales and excise taxes are the most regressive taxes when compared to income and property taxes. The lowest 20% of North Carolina workers pay 6.1 percent in sales taxes as a percentage of their income while the top 1 percent pays less than 1 percent in sales taxes as a percentage of their income.
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ITEP Work in Action September 28, 2018 BTC Report: Income tax rate cap amendment is costly for taxpayers, communities
Imposing an arbitrary income tax cap in the North Carolina Constitution could fundamentally compromise our state’s ability to fund our schools, roads, and public health, as well as raise the cost of borrowing. This could all happen even as the tax load shifts even further onto middle- and low-income taxpayers and the state’s highest income taxpayers — the top 1 percent — continue to benefit from recent tax changes since 2013.
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ITEP Work in Action May 31, 2018 NC Budget and Tax Center: Corporations over Carolinians?
Big corporations and wealthy executive have been on quite a run. Corporate profits are at historic levels,[1] stock prices are through the roof, and plush executive pay has become the… -
ITEP Work in Action May 30, 2018 NC Budget and Tax Center: Revenue Options to Support Children’s Educational Success
The General Assembly legislative session begins on May 16, the same day teachers plan a day of action to highlight the unmet needs their students face in the classroom and… -
ITEP Work in Action May 22, 2018 NC Policy Watch: Governor Cooper recognizes North Carolina is in a hole, stops digging
Holding off on another round of tax cuts for the richest taxpayers and profitable corporations and keeping the increased standard deduction and lower rate for the majority of taxpayers will… -
ITEP Work in Action April 16, 2018 NC Budget and Tax Center: North Carolina’s Upside Down Tax Code
Tax season comes to a close this week, and Tax Day serves as a good time to reflect on who pays taxes in North Carolina. The income tax is, naturally,… -
ITEP Work in Action December 20, 2017 NC Policy Watch: Devastating consequences if Congress fails to replace DACA in three months
State and local government coffers would also take a hit if Congress fails to pass the Dream Act, or another effective solution. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy estimates… -
ITEP Work in Action August 25, 2017 NC Policy Watch: In N.C., 42% of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would go to the few making more than $1 million
A newly released report confirms that the White House is not really interested in tax reform that helps “ordinary Americans”. Instead, under President Trump’s proposed tax cut plan, “ordinary Americans” will hardly benefit at all, as nearly half of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would go to people making more than $1 million annually.
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ITEP Work in Action August 21, 2017 Budget and Tax Center: Costly Tax Cuts in New State Budget Continue Precarious Road Ahead for North Carolina
The new two-year state budget passed by lawmakers included another package of tax cuts that will further limit the amount of revenue available for public investments. The latest tax cuts will reduce annual available revenue by $900 million and, when combined with tax cuts passed since 2013, result in an estimated $3.5 billion in less annual revenue compared to the tax system that was in place prior to tax changes in 2013.
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ITEP Work in Action June 21, 2017 Failed Tax-Cut Experiment (in North Carolina) Will Continue Under Final Budget Agreement, Pushes Fiscal Reckoning Down the Line
The final budget agreement from leaders of the House and Senate puts North Carolina on precarious fiscal footing, The tax changes that leaders agreed to—which were less a compromise and more of a decision to combine the tax cuts in both chambers’ proposals—make the cost of these tax cuts bigger than what either chamber proposed. Including the new tax cuts,approximately 80 percent of the net tax cut since 2013 will have gone to the top 20 percent. More than half of the net tax cut will go to the top 1 percent.
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ITEP Work in Action May 26, 2017 The Cost Of Trickle-Down Economics For North Carolina
Since 2013, state lawmakers have passed significant income tax cuts that largely benefit the state’s highest income earners and profitable corporations. These costly tax cuts have made the state’s tax… -
ITEP Work in Action May 3, 2017 The Progressive Pulse: Young Undocumented Immigrants’ Tax Contributions Would Drop by Nearly Half Without the Protection of the DACA Program
Young immigrants eligible for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) annually contribute $2 billion in state and local taxes, according to new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The ITEP report finds that this number would drop by nearly half without DACA protection at a time when the Trump Administration has sent mixed signals on whether it intends to honor the DACA executive order in the long term.
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ITEP Work in Action April 18, 2017 North Carolina Justice Center: Prosperity Watch (Issue 72, No 3): Tax cuts since 2013 reinforce racial and ethnic exclusion
Changes to North Carolina’s tax system in recent years have had an impact on the level of available revenue for public investments and shifted tax responsibility among taxpayers. BTC analysis… -
ITEP Work in Action April 12, 2017 The Progressive Pulse: Undocumented immigrants pay their fair share of taxes, too
Tax Day is just around the corner, and this year is no different than any other for countless undocumented immigrants filling tax forms in North Carolina. Current rhetoric on immigration… -
ITEP Work in Action April 3, 2017 NC Policy Watch: What you need to know as the state Senate moves to cut taxes yet again
The North Carolina Senate is moving ahead yet again – perhaps as early as this afternoon – with a new proposal to further reduce state taxes and the revenues they… -
ITEP Work in Action April 3, 2017 The Progressive Pulse: New analysis: Most of NC senate’s “middle class” tax cut would actually flow to the wealthy
BTC’s analysis of SB 325 uses a more robust model developed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan organization. ITEP’s microsimulation tax model calculates tax… -
ITEP Work in Action March 31, 2017 The Progressive Pulse: Why cutting taxes for business again makes no sense
When businesses pay their share of taxes, North Carolina is able to invest in the things that build thriving communities and a prosperous economy – things like good schools, roads,… -
ITEP Work in Action March 19, 2017 North Carolina Justice Center: BTC POLICY BASIC: Marginal versus Effective Personal Income Tax Rates
A great deal of confusion abounds in discussions about state personal income tax rates and how they apply to income. This policy basic clarifies the difference between marginal and effective… -
ITEP Work in Action March 19, 2017 North Carolina Justice Center: Still walking the path to zero: The Senate tax plan will harm North Carolina’s goal of building a stronger, inclusive economy
Senate leaders continue to pursue reductions to the income tax rate for wealthy taxpayers and profitable corporations even as they claim to be focused on helping low- and moderate-income taxpayers.… -
ITEP Work in Action February 22, 2017 North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: The Road to Nowhere Good for North Carolina
Tax changes passed in the 2016 legislative session reduced the income tax rate and increased reliance on the sales tax. This continued flawed approach to taxation that policymakers have followed… -
ITEP Work in Action January 6, 2017 North Carolina Justice Center: 12 Charts about N.C.’s Economy in 2016
“The economic challenges that face North Carolina families were front and center in 2016. North Carolina wrestled with the disconnect between political rhetoric and everyday reality this election year, thanks… -
ITEP Work in Action April 11, 2016 North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: North Carolina’s “Tax Swap” Gives Biggest Breaks to the Wealthiest, Undermines Public Investments for All
“Efforts to rely more on the state sales tax and less on the income tax to support public services have shifted tax obligations to less affluent North Carolinians, while saving… -
ITEP Work in Action February 17, 2016 North Carolina Tax and Justice Center: Prosperity Watch Issue 58, No. 3: State EITC allows working North Carolinians keep more of what they earn, boosts economy
Low- and middle-income taxpayers in North Carolina pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthiest taxpayers in the state. This inequity in… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 North Carolina Tax and Budget Center: BTC REPORTS: Doubling Down on a Losing Strategy – More Income Tax Cuts Will Grow Budget Shortfalls, Not the Economy
North Carolina policymakers have proposed another round of income tax cuts on top of those they passed in 2013. Senate Bill 526 would cost at least $1.4 billion by 2017,…