North Carolina
North Carolina Justice Center: First in Flight from the EITC – Low-Income Working Families Bid Farewell to NC’s Earned Income Tax Credit
May 22, 2014
Unless lawmakers reverse course, close to one million working families in North Carolina will claim the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for the last time this tax season, bringing pain to individual families and local economies. One year ago, North Carolina lawmakers put an end to the tax credit and subsequently pursued deep tax […]
NC Policy Watch: North Carolina can make tax system more fair by reinstating its state Earned Income Tax Credit
May 22, 2014
It comes as no surprise to working families that North Carolina’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Families who make less than $47,000 a year pay, on average, nearly 2 times more of their income in state and local taxes than those making more than $345,000. But taxpayers don’t have to accept this fundamental unfairness. One […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Raising the Bar in the Budget Debate
May 9, 2014
The Legislature’s upcoming budget debate is an opportunity to change the state’s direction and ensure a stronger recovery from the Great Recession. To do so, policymakers must make the critical investments needed to alleviate the economic struggles of North Carolina families, create pathways to the middle class, and strengthen communities across the state. Read the […]
The Transylvania Times: No True Tax Reform
April 16, 2014
(Original Post) Within the past few days, thousands of North Carolinians have been scurrying to complete and file their state and federal income tax returns. As always, there is a call for a simpler and more equitable tax code. As usual, very little is done to make taxes simpler or achieve a more equitable system. […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Who Pays in 2014 – Tax Plan Creates Winners and Losers in North Carolina
April 14, 2014
Changes are coming to who pays taxes in North Carolina, and the news is not good for middle- and low-income taxpayers. This tax season marks the final year taxpayers will file their income taxes under the state’s old tax code and by next year it will be apparent to many taxpayers that the tax plan […]
Rocky Mountain Telegram: Tax loopholes favor giant corporations
March 27, 2014
(Original Post) Tuesday, March 25, 2014 Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly in 2013 made good on their promises to cut corporate income taxes in order for North Carolina to better compete to land new businesses and industries – and the jobs that come with them. North Carolina’s tax rate on corporations […]
News & Record: Next to nothing
March 24, 2014
(Original Post) What’s less than a lower corporate income-tax rate? What some businesses actually pay. North Carolina legislators cut the state’s corporate income-tax rate last year from 6.9 percent to 6 percent. It’s scheduled to drop to 5 percent next year. Republican lawmakers said the cut was needed to create a better business climate and […]
NC Policy Watch: Profitable corporations avoid paying fair share of taxes
March 21, 2014
As our state leaders continue to look for ways to give more and more tax cuts to profitable corporations, these corporations continue to find ways to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. It is a win-win proposition: Heads they win; Tails they still win! Read the Full Report
North Carolina Justice Center: Tax change for multistate corporations would harm state investments
March 20, 2014
State lawmakers are considering a change that would provide a tax cut to a handful of corporations and no guarantee of job creation, says a report released this morning by the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center. It would also reduce available revenue for public investments by $90 million over […]
The Digital Journal: Customers will pay for ash pond cleanup, Duke Energy CEO says
March 13, 2014
(Original Post) BY KELLY FETTY Charlotte – Duke Energy expects its customers to pay for the cleanup and removal of hazardous coal ash ponds in North Carolina, CEO Lynn Good said last Friday. Good made the remark in a brief interview after she accepted the BusinessWoman of the Year award at Queens University of Charlotte […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Duke Energy the subject of another scathing report
February 27, 2014
One of North Carolina’s largest, most profitable (and most controversial) corporations is the subject of renewed criticism today. A new report co-released last night by the Washington, DC-based groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy along with the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center reveals that Duke Energy has […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes; Headquartered Companies in N.C. Top the List
February 26, 2014
Washington, D.C. (February 26, 2014) – A comprehensive five-year study of 288 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 111 of them paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five years while one-third paid a U.S. tax rate less than 10 percent over the same period, including 26 that […]
News & Observer: Duke Energy paid no federal income taxes in recent years
February 26, 2014
(Original Post) Posted by David Ranii on February 26, 2014 Duke Energy is one of 26 profitable Fortune 500 companies that paid no federal income taxes over the past five years, according to a new report. A Duke spokesman said the Charlotte-based company benefited from accelerated depreciation on billions of dollars in capital investments that […]
The Progressive Pulse: Profiles in tax avoidance – Yum! Brands
December 2, 2013
(Original Post) Post on November 26, 2013 by Allan Freyer When Thanksgiving rolls around, no one wants to watch someone else eat all the turkey and then have to pick up the grocery bill all by themselves. But that’s what’s happening in our nation’s budget debate—highly profitable multinational corporations are using special tax loopholes, credits, […]
News & Observer: America’s growing income divide
September 16, 2013
By Ned Barnett The downtown lot where Raleigh’s Occupy movement once camped is now empty. The fast-food workers who picketted over being paid the meager minimum wage of $7.25 an hour have gone back to making burgers and fries. The Moral Monday protesters have vanished from outside the state Legislative Building, their weekly gatherings […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Final Tax Plan Falls Far Short of True Tax Reform
September 11, 2013
The tax plan recently signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory fails to make the fundamental changes North Carolina needs to create a modern, adequate and fair revenue system that can boost the state’s economy and strengthen schools, health care and other services families need to prosper and the economy needs to grow. The plan […]
The Progressive Pulse: Facts matter about the tax “reform” debate
July 22, 2013
(Original Post) Post on July 19, 2013 by Jeff Shaw5 Comments » When making important decisions, people have a right to the best possible information. Facts, not ideology, should drive our policy agendas. This is especially true on budget and tax issues, which affect everyone in North Carolina. Unfortunately, John Hood’s recent column on the […]
Think Progress: North Carolina Lawmakers Ram Through Plan That Would Increase Taxes On Poor People
July 18, 2013
(Original Post) By Igor Volsky on Jul 16, 2013 at 12:45 pm Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) (Credit: Takaaki Iwabu/The News & Observer) North Carolina lawmakers rammed through massive tax reforms on Tuesday that would disproportionately benefit higher-income earners, bringing the measure to a vote in the House after approximately 25 minutes of debate. The legislative […]
North Carolina Justice Center: The Math Doesn’t Add Up
July 15, 2013
The latest Senate tax plan continues to provide large tax cuts to the wealthiest taxpayers and profitable corporations, while shifting more of the overall tax load to middle-class families and reducing revenue for schools, health care and other services by nearly $1 billion each year when fully implemented. While Senators say the new scheme addresses […]
Triangle Business Journal: N.C. gas tax rises to 37.6 cents a gallon
July 1, 2013
(Original Post) Jul 1, 2013, 3:57pm EDT Logistics & Transportation Chris Bagley Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal North Carolina increased its motor fuels tax to its second-highest level in history on Monday. The increase was small, just one-tenth of a cent per gallon, but the 37.6-cents-per-gallon level is second only to the 38.9 cents per […]
News & Observer: NC tax reform will have major implications for next generation
June 24, 2013
By Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin There are times when stark choices about the future of our state arise – and we seem to be at one of these crossroads now. The debate is trapped in the wonky world of tax reform. But the implications of this debate are very real and worth paying attention […]
North Carolina Justice Center: No Protection for Working Families
June 21, 2013
Both the Senate and House tax plans would give huge tax cuts to the wealthy and profitable businesses while failing to address the state’s flawed tax system, which requires low- and moderate-income taxpayers to pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than wealthy taxpayers.The current tax system’s Earned Income Tax […]
North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: First Comprehensive Tax Legislation Would Not Protect Low- and Middle-Income Taxpayers from Tax Increases
June 14, 2013
80 percent of taxpayers would see slightly higher taxes under the first comprehensive tax legislation introduced this legislative session, while the top 1 percent of earners would get a tax cut. The proposal threatens to erode resources for schools, health care and other services North Carolina needs to be economically competitive. The proposal (Senate Bill […]
North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: State EITC is the best tool to reduce an increased tax load on low-income taxpayers
June 14, 2013
The State Earned Income Tax Credit is the best way to make sure that low-income North Carolinians are not paying more than their fair share of taxes, while also helping low-income families stay out of poverty and create a better future for their children. Unless lawmakers reverse course, close to one million working families in […]
North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: A Pathway to Poverty – 3 Reasons Why Tennessee is a Bad Role Model for North Carolina’s Economic Future
June 14, 2013
In the current debate over tax reform, legislative leaders frequently hold up Tennessee as a role model for improving North Carolina’s economic competitiveness and ensuring future prosperity. But a look beneath the surface reveals that the Volunteer State has the wrong kind of economy to emulate—Tennessee models a pathway to poverty, not a pathway to […]
