
January 23, 2013 • By Carl Davis
Arthur Laffer's consulting firm--Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics (ALME)--has released a report purporting to show that North Carolina could usher in an economic boom if it repeals its personal and corporate income taxes and replaces them primarily with a much larger sales tax. Prepared for the Civitas Institute, "More Jobs, Bigger Paychecks" relies on an economic analysis that is fundamentally flawed to the point of making it entirely useless.
January 23, 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This tax plan, if implemented, will provide the wealthiest 20 percent of taxpayers a significant tax cut, which would be paid for by increasing taxes on 60 percent of the state’s taxpayers, primarily middle- and low-income taxpayers. The plan eliminates the personal income, corporate income and franchise taxes, which, combined, generate $12 billion […]
January 22, 2013
Siddhartha Mahanta | 01.18.13 | 4:33 pm | Republish posted in Economy/Finance | Government Accountability/Reform | Politics Republicans in North Carolina haven’t had it this good since 1870. That’s the last time they controlled both the state’s legislative and executive branches. And they’re getting right down to business, pledging in interviews with local papers to […]
January 18, 2013
By Paul Hammel WORLD-HERALD BUREAU LINCOLN — Nebraska isn’t the only state looking to eliminate state income taxes. Republican leaders in both Louisiana and North Carolina are pushing plans similar to Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s pitch — elimination of income taxes on individuals and on corporations to boost their local economies. Other states, including Oklahoma, […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) Blog Post by: Benjamin Landy, on January 16, 2013 In the days and weeks after Mitt Romney’s electoral defeat, there was what seemed like an endless stream of hand-wringing and soul-searching among Republican elites. The political landscape had changed overnight, forcing rising stars within the party to acknowledge the need for greater diversity, […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) by Will Huntsberry @willhuntsberry Republican leaders believe North Carolina is sick and they have the cure. The most vital remedy, they believe, is tax reform. Personal and corporate income tax make up roughly 60 percent of annual state revenues. The plan is to eliminate these taxes, or at the very least, slash them […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 14, 2013 at 9:25 am Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) last week tentatively endorsed a plan that would eliminate his state’s income and corporate taxes, replacing them with an increased sales tax. Such a move would disproportionately impact the poor, in a state where the tax code is already […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 15, 2013 at 3:10 pm Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state’s personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax. Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor, who are disproportionately hit by the sales […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) By Travis Waldron on Jan 16, 2013 at 2:15 pm Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) became the latest Republican governor to propose the elimination of his state’s income tax during his State of the State speech last night, a move that would eliminate $2.4 billion in revenues each year. To replace the lost […]
January 14, 2013
Read the Original Full Power Point Presentation
January 14, 2013
Members of the House of Representatives faced a daunting task when they began to craft their proposed two-year budget. In the weeks after the Senate voted on its budget, the revenue forecast for fiscal year 2009-10 (FY09-10) dropped by $1.35 billion. The House’s options for balancing the budget dropped further when Governor Beverly Perdue tapped […]
January 14, 2013
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposed tax modernization plan would require an additional 0.3% of income ($32 average annually) from the lowestincome earners, 0.1% of income ($32 average annually) from middle-income taxpayers and 0.1% of income ($958 average annually) from the highest 1% of income-earners. The plan would improve stability and long-term revenue adequacy, but additional […]
January 14, 2013
The proposed $1 billion compromise tax plan released the week of July 20th featured a 1-cent sales tax increase and 2% personal income tax surcharge. This plan, if enacted, would have required three times more, as a share of income, of the state’s lowest-income families than of the state’s top 1% of income-earners. Read the […]
January 14, 2013
A modern revenue system should improve long-term adequacy, minimize volatility and ensure equity so that the state can invest in North Carolina’s shared prosperity. Read the Full Report (PDF)
January 14, 2013
Legislative leaders announced their intent to cut $592 million from the state’s health and human services budget next year, which is $372 million more than the $212 million in FY11-12 cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget. To put the legislature’s proposal in perspective, the state’s $4.9 billion health and human services budget is second only […]
January 14, 2013
State leaders must create a budget that meets the population’s needs and allows them to make the investments that will prepare North Carolina for future prosperity. But these goals are made more difficult to achieve by the state’s deteriorated revenue system, which even in the best of times cannot produce the resources required for education, […]
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) NEAL PEIRCE © WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUPPublished: September 20, 2009 WASHINGTON In a dramatic break from tax trends of recent decades, eight states have voted this year to push up the percentages of income that their wealthiest citizens must pay. Connecticut is the latest to take this step, following Delaware, Hawaii, […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) by : Al Dozier A new study showing South Carolina’s tax system weighs more heavily on the poor and middle class than the rich is unlikely to spark any restructuring of the state’s tax system, according to local advocates for change. That conclusion comes even as a new study panel, […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) Post on February 14, 2011 by Ed McLenaghan Note: This is Part 3 in a series of posts on revenue modernization in advance of Thursday’s release of the NC Budget & Tax Center’s 2011 Revenue Modernization Plan. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here. North Carolina’s state and […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) Tuesday, May 31, 2011(Updated 3:00 am) The Republican-controlled Senate’s budget takes a double cuts approach to our state’s fiscal woes: It relies on deep cuts in spending to close our $2.4 billion budget shortfall and even deeper cuts to vital state programs due to a nearly $500 million cut in […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) The Republican-controlled Senate’s budget takes a double cuts approach to our state’s fiscal woes: it relies on deep cuts in spending to close our $2.4 billion budget shortfall. Even deeper cuts to vital state programs were necessitated due to their nearly $500 million cut in personal income taxes. Sen. Bob […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) Post on June 2, 2011 by Ed McLenaghan When in a hole, the first response should be to stop digging. The tax-cut plan passed Tuesday by the House and included in the Senate budget, however, responds to the $2.4 billion state revenue shortfall by digging the hole even deeper. Although […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) 08.04.11 – 07:50 pm Let’s take a holiday from the sales tax holiday. That was a daring thing for any politician to say — voters do so love their tax loopholes — but on the lips of a Republican, it was practically radical. Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, was among the […]
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009 By Stateline.org Staff Reports A headline in this morning’s Baltimore Sun — “Maryland lost nearly 30% of millionaires last year” — is sure to revive a debate over the higher tax rates that Free State legislators imposed on millionaires in 2008. At least eight other states this […]
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By TOM ASWELL During the 1988 presidential race, Vice President George H.W. Bush proclaimed, “Read my lips: no new taxes!” That famous line helped him defeat Michael Dukakis but when he was forced to back-track on that promise, it was his eventual undoing. Bill Clinton’s own pithy campaign slogan “It’s the […]