North Carolina
Herald Sun: Letter to the Editor
July 20, 2015
Let’s step aside from heated immigration debate for a moment and pragmatically deconstruct the merits of House Bill 328. The “Highway Safety/Citizens Protection Act” provides an avenue for undocumented immigrants with non-criminal backgrounds to obtain state-issued driver’s licenses. Opponents argue this legislation incentivizes illegal immigration, which could further deplete already sparse state resources. The Institute […]
TI News Daily: Some States Prefer Transportation Over Tax relief
July 8, 2015
To meet infrastructure needs, several states have had to increase other taxes, such as gasoline taxes. These states include Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Kentucky, Utah and South Dakota. Four of these states are currently finalizing infrastructure funding increases or are still discussing infrastructure funding raises. “A lot of states realized they couldn’t put […]
Planetizen: State Gas Tax Changes Effective July 1: Six Up; One Down
July 6, 2015
Carl Davis, Research Director of the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) writes where gas taxes used to fund transportation infrastructure increased, if only by decimal points, and about the aberration—the six-cent plunge in California. “The largest gas tax increases are taking place in Idaho (7 cents per gallon) and Georgia (6.7 cents for […]
Don’t Mess With Taxes: Gasoline, Diesel Taxes Hiked in Seven States on July 1
July 2, 2015
Gas tax cuts stopped in two states: And some drivers who had been expecting lower fuel taxes are disappointed. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), notes on the Tax Justice Blog that automatic gas tax cuts had been scheduled to take place in Kentucky and North Carolina. Lawmakers […]
Sun Journal: A North Carolina Tax That is Too Taxing
June 22, 2015
Republican leaders in the state Senate are betting on sales-tax revenues to keep North Carolina’s government afloat for the next few years. It’s a bad bet for most ordinary Tar Heels. According to the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, folks making $40,000 or less per year already pay between 5 and 6 percent […]
NC Policy Watch: The Senate Tax Plan Fails to Fix the Problem
June 16, 2015
Last week, we raised concerns with the Senate leadership’s new tax plan. Rather than reinvesting and regaining ground lost in recent years, the Senate is pursuing another round of costly income tax cuts. When fully implemented, the $1 billion price tag for the Senate tax plan will mean North Carolina must forgo investments in the foundations […]
Asheville Citizen-Times: Long-term tax shifts may hit rich and poor differently
May 29, 2015
North Carolina’s sales tax law has loopholes large enough to drive a truck through — or sail a boat, pilot an airplane or guide a train. Or pull a wood chipper through, provided it is intended for use out of state. Each of those items gets preferential treatment under the law, underlining difficulties with a […]
Budget and Tax Center: Tax Credits for Working Families Deliver Broad Benefits to the State
April 14, 2015
The North Carolina EITC was a vital facet of the state’s tax system, building off of the federal tax credit—one of the nation’s most powerful anti-poverty tools for children. The benefi ts of the state EITC extended to the broader economy by promoting work and helping families afford things that make it possible to work, […]
North Carolina Justice Center: A Capital Loss – Eliminating taxes on capital gains would make North Carolina’s tax system more unfair
January 24, 2015
Tax cut proponents in North Carolina are pushing another plan that would benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, turning their sights to eliminating the state income tax on the sale of artwork, vacation homes and other high-end capital gains that only a few North Carolinians profit from. Contrary to supporters’ claims, this […]
North Carolina Justice Center: Low-income taxpayers in North Carolina pay nearly twice the tax rate paid by the richest North Carolinians
January 21, 2015
The lowest income North Carolinians pay over 70 percent more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest residents, according to a new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center. Read the […]
The Greensboro News and Record: Taxes’ Low Blows
January 21, 2015
“State legislators opened their 2015 session saying they want to ease the tax burden on “regular folks.” That will be a turnaround. “Regular folks” — those who earn moderate incomes or less — pay a larger share of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the very wealthy in North Carolina. The Institute […]
NC Policy Watch: North Carolina’s unfair tax system highlighted in new report
January 16, 2015
The latest Who Pays? report released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) takes a look at the fairness of state tax systems. For North Carolina, the lowest income North Carolinians pay over 70 percent more in state and local taxes as a share of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest […]
News & Observer: Despite claims, GOP policies aren’t spurring the NC economy
January 16, 2015
“The ballyhooed tax cuts have choked state revenue to the point where it will not be enough for even an austere budget. Current projections call for a $199 million shortfall, but it could go higher. Meanwhile, the cuts have increased economic inequality by shifting the tax burden downward. A new report from the Institute on […]
The Progress Pulse: North Carolina’s unfair tax system highlighted in new report
January 15, 2015
“The latest Who Pays? report released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) takes a look at the fairness of state tax systems. For North Carolina, the lowest income North Carolinians pay over 70 percent more in state and local taxes as a share of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest […]
Mountain Express: Low-income taxpayers pay nearly twice the rate of high-income taxpayers in NC
January 15, 2015
“According to a study from the The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Budget & Tax Center, North Carolinians with the lowest income pay more than 40 percent more in taxes (as a percent of their income) compared to the state’s wealthiest residents. The ITEP even calls the state and local tax system […]
North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: 2015 Budget Undermines North Carolina’s Competitiveness
December 11, 2014
The 2015 state budget, passed by the NC General Assembly and signed by Governor McCrory, undermines North Carolina’s competitive position in the 21st century global economy. Lawmakers failed to provide a high-quality education for all children, protect natural resources, support community-based economic development, or provide adequate health and human services to North Carolina residents. By […]
North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: 2015 Budget Undermines North Carolina’s Competitiveness
December 11, 2014
The 2015 state budget, passed by the NC General Assembly and signed by Governor McCrory, undermines North Carolina’s competitive position in the 21st century global economy. Lawmakers failed to provide a high-quality education for all children, protect natural resources, support community-based economic development, or provide adequate health and human services to North Carolina residents. By […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
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