North Carolina
Newsweek: Ultra-Conservative Experiments Are Put to the Test
October 28, 2014
The nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the new North Carolina tax plan will cost the state over $1 billion this fiscal year compared to the past one. “That’s about equivalent to the entire community college budget,” said Tazra Mitchell, a budget analyst at the Justice Center. “So that’s not a small […]
Winston Salem Journal: A Legislative Bad Decision That’s Looking Even Worse
October 28, 2014
And the numbers aren’t political spin. The current shortfall figures come from the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly. The estimate of how large the shortfall could become is from the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, using the latest state taxpayer data. The Institute says the cost of the Robin-Hood-in-reverse tax cut […]
USA Today: Fact Checking the NC Senate Race
October 16, 2014
Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that, based only on the income tax portion of the changes, about 35% of North Carolinians would see a tax increase, another 16% would see no change, and roughly 49% would get a tax cut. Once you factor in the […]
Politico: Fact Checking the NC Senate Race
October 10, 2014
Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that, based only on the income tax portion of the changes, about 35 percent of North Carolinians would see a tax increase, another 16 percent would see no change, and roughly 49 percent would get a tax cut. Once […]
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Stronger Earned Income Tax Credit and Minimum Wage – Both Needed to Help Low-Wage Working Families
September 8, 2014
There are two critical policy tools that can help put low-wage workers on the path to economic security: the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Together these policies ensure that working families can maximize their take-home pay to help make ends meet. Read the full report
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 5, 2014 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
Politico: Tar Heel State Tackles Teacher Pay
June 17, 2014
In North Carolina, teacher pay is so low that educators are turning out for job fairs hosted by other states with the promise of higher salaries [http://bit.ly/1lJQ1e2] elsewhere. And the Tar Heel State ranks near the bottom -- at 46th in the country -- when it comes to teachers' salaries. Meg Wiehe, director of state tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Morning Education those issues are at the heart of two proposals coming out of the state legislature. To pay for teacher pay increases, the state senate proposed asking teachers to give up their tenure…
Politico: North Carolina’s Two Odd Tax Proposals
June 17, 2014
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy's Jenice Robinson previews what's happening in the state on the tax front. "The North Carolina Legislature is back in session this week, and two odd proposals are on the table," Robinson writes in an email. "North Carolina teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation, and they haven't had a salary increase since 2008. The state legislature, after enacting major tax cuts that lose hundreds of millions in revenue, is trying to figure out how to fund teacher pay increases. The Senate has proposed asking state residents to voluntarily return their state…
The Progressive Pulse: House leadership takes a different path than Senate and Governor when it comes to paying for its budget
June 13, 2014
Posted by : Tazra Mitchell Wednesday, June 11, 2014 It is worth lifting up the question that few people are asking: what if the tax plan ends up costing more than originally estimated? As we reported last month, estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) suggest that the revenue projections for next […]
Huffington Post: Koch Brothers Group Holds Complete Opposite of Moral Mondays Protest
June 3, 2014
North Carolina families with annual incomes below $84,000 will on average see higher taxes when the bill's impact is combined with the legislature's elimination of the state's Earned Income Tax Credit and increased sales taxes, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the North Carolina Justice Center.
Progressive Pulse: How the Senate Pays for Its 2015 Budget Proposal
May 30, 2014
By Tazra Mitchell, May 30, 2014 On Wednesday evening, the North Carolina Senate unveiled its $21.16 billion budget proposal for the 2015 fiscal year that begins in June 2014 and ends in July 2015. The Senate leadership decided to put the budget on a fast track to approval, bypassing the appropriations subcommittee process and scheduling […]
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
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 […]
Accounting Today: Big Corporations Dodge Billions in State Taxes
March 21, 2014
(Original Post) WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 21, 2014) BY MICHAEL COHN Some of the largest and most profitable Fortune 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes, according to a new study. The study, by the advocacy groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, examined 269 Fortune […]
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 […]
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