North Carolina
State Rundown 11/5: Election Day Put Taxes on the Ballot
• By ITEP Staff
While voters delivered an historic rebuke of the economic and tax policies of the Trump administration as affordability concerns became a flashpoint, voters also decided on major tax ballot questions that will raise and protect revenue and do more to tax the rich in Washington, California, and Colorado.
Voters Pass Ballot Measures to Raise and Protect Revenue, Tax the Rich
• By Aidan Davis, Jon Whiten
Voters in states across the country on Tuesday passed critical ballot measures to raise and protect revenue and increase tax fairness. In three of four cases, voters showed their support for taxing the rich.
State Rundown 10/8: Ballot Debates and Gas Tax Promises Accelerate as Election Day Nears
• By ITEP Staff
As the Iran War continues to cause gas prices to rise across the country, lawmakers are stepping on the accelerator instead of pumping the brakes on costly and ineffective proposals to suspend the gas tax ahead of the November election.
North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: Income tax limits would deepen racial inequity in NC
• By ITEP Staff
This November, North Carolinians will vote on a constitutional amendment that would limit the state income tax rate to 3.5 percent both for personal and corporate income taxes, a significant decrease from 7 percent, which was the maximum rate approved by voters in 2018.
2026 State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch
• By Aidan Davis
This fall, voters across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems. Here’s some of what we’re following.
State Rundown 8/27: Tax Policy is Cool as Summer Wraps
• By ITEP Staff
With many state legislatures already adjourned, developments in tax policy have slowed.
USA TODAY: States are relying more on sales taxes. Here’s why that matters
July 30, 2026
Over time, some states have slashed corporate and personal income taxes while also raising the sales tax rate. In 11 states, “all three of those things have happened,” said Sarah Austin, a senior analyst at ITEP and author of the report.
State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports
• By ITEP Staff
Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.
State Rundown 6/25: Trending This Summer? New Revenue!
• By ITEP Staff
It's the first official week of summer, and while many of us are planning vacations, state lawmakers remain busy finalizing and debating tax proposals.
State Rundown 6/11: Taxing the Rich Heats Up
• By ITEP Staff
As we head into summer, many state legislatures are in the final stretches of their sessions. Rhode Island moved another step closer to joining the ranks of Washington, Maine, and Hawai’i in enacting a new high-income surcharge this year.
State Rundown 6/4: Fiscal Flowers and Weeds Bloom in June
• By ITEP Staff
A veritable superbloom of tax and budget policies occurred over these last few weeks, including both flowers worth admiring and weeds worth fighting back.
Repealing North Carolina’s Corporate Tax is an Even Worse Idea Than You Think
• By Carl Davis
North Carolina’s corporate tax cuts aren’t an incentive for economic growth. They’re a windfall for multinational companies that happen to sell into our state, regardless of whether they’ve made any meaningful investments here or not.
State Rundown 5/14: Fund Priorities or Increase Shortfalls?
• By ITEP Staff
As many legislative sessions end, lawmakers are revealing their priorities.
State Rundown 4/23: While Some States Stop Digging, Others Move Full Steam Ahead with Anti-Affordability Agendas
• By ITEP Staff
Missouri lawmakers passed legislation that will have residents vote on a proposal at the ballot box. The ask: for them to pay more in sales taxes to offset cuts – and the possible elimination – of the state's individual income tax, which makes up nearly two-thirds of Missouri’s general fund.
State Rundown 4/16: Tax Day, a New Millionaires’ Tax and Late Blooming State Tax Action
• By ITEP Staff
Yesterday was Tax Day, and with many state legislative sessions wrapping, some tax changes are gearing up or crossing over the finish line.
North Carolina, Pushing Tax Cuts on Three Fronts, Risks a Repeat of Kansas Debacle
• By Carl Davis
Tax cuts are looming large on the horizon in North Carolina. So large, in fact, that even some traditionally anti-tax voices are starting to get nervous.
State Tax Watch 2026
• By ITEP Staff
ITEP tracks tax discussions in legislatures across the country and uses our unique data capacity to analyze the revenue, distributional, and racial and ethnic impacts of many of these proposals. State Tax Watch offers the latest news and movement from each state.
State Rundown 3/26: Sobering Revenue Projections Keep States on Their Toes
• By ITEP Staff
This week, troubling revenue projections are making headlines, with many lawmakers scrambling to determine how the tax changes at the federal level, plus price hikes driven by national policy decisions, will impact their states.
State Rundown 3/18: New Mexico Enacts Most Significant Corporate Tax Reform of the Year
• By ITEP Staff
As states lawmakers continue to weigh their linkages to the federal tax code in light of the recent federal tax law, New Mexico provides a blueprint for limiting multinational corporate tax avoidance.
North Carolina Department of Commerce: The Hidden Cost of Child Care Gaps in North Carolina’s Economy
• By ITEP Staff
Lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care is a barrier to labor force participation for working parents in North Carolina and affects our state’s economy. Read more.
NC Budget & Tax Center: Jan. 1: Tax cuts for the rich in NC — still no state budget
• By ITEP Staff
The New Year will bring little certainty to everyday North Carolinians. State legislators have failed to use the policy tools available to them to address rising costs for the basics, from food to child-care to housing. Read more.
Re-Examining 529 Plans: Stopping State Subsidies to Private Schools After New Trump Tax Law
• By Miles Trinidad, Nick Johnson
The 2025 federal tax law risks making 529 plans more costly for states by increasing tax avoidance and allowing wealthy families to use these funds for private and religious K-12 schools.
State Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Subsidize Federal Opportunity Zones
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
The Opportunity Zones program benefits wealthy investors more than it benefits disadvantaged communities.
In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments
• By Rita Jefferson
Important tax measures were on the ballot this week, and the outcomes are clear: many voters support new state and local spending to support critical services in their communities.
The Potential of Local Child Tax Credits to Reduce Child Poverty
• By Kamolika Das, Aidan Davis, Galen Hendricks, Rita Jefferson
Local governments have a critical role to play in reducing child poverty. Local Child Tax Credits could provide large tax cuts to families at the bottom of the income scale, lessening the overall regressivity of state and local tax systems.
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