North Carolina
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ITEP Work in Action April 23, 2021 NC Policy Watch: NC needs to fix its tax code to secure a just recovery — for everyone
North Carolina’s current tax code asks the top to pay less as a share of their income than taxpayers with poverty-level incomes. By putting in place tax policies that would… -
ITEP Work in Action April 14, 2021 NC Policy Watch: Some simple truths about the taxes corporations pay and Biden’s proposal blow the whistle on them
Discovery No. 1 one is that almost no major U.S. corporation, certainly not those that do business overseas, actually pays the 21% corporate tax rate, set by law. In fact,… -
ITEP Work in Action April 14, 2021 NC Policy Watch: New report: NC tax policy promotes racial inequities in numerous ways
North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcome that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according… -
ITEP Work in Action April 13, 2021 North Carolina Justice Center: State Tax Policy Is Not Race Neutral
North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcomes that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according… -
ITEP Work in Action May 21, 2020 Washington State Budget and Policy Center: It’s time to include undocumented immigrants in state response to COVID-19
In addition to state and local taxes, new estimates show that the labor of undocumented workers in Washington state has resulted in nearly $400 million of contributions to the state… -
ITEP Work in Action April 2, 2020 NC Policy Watch: Those Federal COVID-19 Checks: What They Mean and Who Might Get Left Out
In a replay of how aid checks were dispensed during the Great Recession, the CARES Act reveals giant holes in how we get cash to people in desperate need. Without… -
ITEP Work in Action October 25, 2019 Budget & Tax Center: A Costly Cover for More Business Tax Cuts in NC
Analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that 27 percent of the total net tax cut from the increase in the standard deduction will actually go to… -
ITEP Work in Action August 29, 2019 New Analysis: A Third of NC Taxpayers Won’t Benefit from Proposed Tax Refund Plan
North Carolina Senate and House leaders are moving forward with a flawed proposal to spend the majority of the state’s revenue over collections, more than $600 million, to issue tax refund checks of $125 per taxpayer ($250 for married couples).
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ITEP Work in Action March 20, 2019 North Carolina Justice Center: Higher Rates on Higher Income: Why a Graduated Income Tax is Good Policy for North Carolina
At the same time, a graduated rate structure — in contrast with the state’s current flat tax rate on income — can make more revenue available for key public investments,… -
ITEP Work in Action January 23, 2019 NC Policy Watch: Report: Corporations Are Stiffing North Carolina on $373 Million in State Taxes
It turns out that state leaders can ensure that companies pay the proper amount of taxes on income generated from business conducted in their jurisdictions, but existing tax codes at… -
ITEP Work in Action October 22, 2018 NC Policy Watch: North Carolina’s Tax Code Isn’t Helping the State’s Growing Inequality
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.
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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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October 17, 2018 North Carolina: Who Pays? 6th Edition
NORTH CAROLINA Read as PDF NORTH CAROLINA STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next… -
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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September 26, 2018 Tax Cuts 2.0 – North Carolina
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called… -
media mention September 4, 2018 WRAL: Meg Wiehe: Capping North Carolina’s top income tax rate isn’t good for our communities
ITEP Deputy Director Meg Wiehe writes for WRAL.com that it would be unwise to constitutionally cap the North Carolina state income tax rate, pointing out that school funding in the state is already down and faltering revenues in other states have led to teacher pay crises and strikes.
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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… -
blog May 22, 2018 Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019.
State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
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ITEP Work in Action May 21, 2018 North Carolina Justice Center: New Report Looks at How Corporate Tax Cuts Have Hurt North Carolina
A new report on corporate income taxes looks at how corporate taxes have been slashed at the state and federal levels, provides evidence that wealthy shareholders are the prime beneficiaries of corporate tax cuts, and shows that corporate tax cuts have not solved North Carolina’s most pressing economic problems. Unless leaders in Raleigh change course, corporations could be in line for yet another tax cut next year if a rate cut to the corporate income tax moves ahead as currently scheduled.
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blog May 15, 2018 NC Teachers’ March on Raleigh and the Tax Cuts that Led Them There
Once again, public school teachers are taking a stand for education and against irresponsible, top-heavy tax cuts that deprive states of the revenue they need to sufficiently fund public services, including education.
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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 February 27, 2018 CBPP: North Carolina Tax Cuts Have Worsened Racial Wealth Inequities
The top 1 percent of North Carolinians are getting about $21,780 in average tax breaks per year — 59 times the average break for people in the middle fifth of the income scale and 1,361 times the average break for people in the lowest fifth, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found in its analysis of the 2013 tax changes.
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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…