jpquick: blog 
jpquick's blog
n.c. tax overhaul still alive in budget talks
Published Jul. 5, 2009Views: 317
The headline should read "N.C. tax increase still alive." Unfortunately, the use of this headline would have placed the author at odds with yet another rebranding effort launched by the NC Democratic Party.
According to the AP, Democrats are no longer increasing "revenue," closing a "massive" budget gap, or protecting "education."
Instead, Mr Robertson would have us believe that state lawmakers are only now finishing an epic "tax reform" effort that has been literally years in the making.
The hero in this political saga is Mr. Hoyle, a legislator our author clearly fears will buckle under assault from misguided Republicans concerned only about "messages" and special interests concerned about being "singled out."
While I admit the Republicans have been less than stellar on the budget issue, efforts like the July 4 Tea Party reflect genuine frustration as opposed to a vague feeling of concern about the "message" a tax increase would send to voters.
As for special interests, I would point out to the author that 70% of the NC electorate disapproves of Bev Perdue's $1.5 billion tax increase. I suppose that just 30% of the electorate could be free of the "special interest" taint, but I suspect otherwise.
The NC "Budget and Tax Center" once again puts in an appearance as a non-partisan authority on budgetary matters. By taxing over 80 services, we are told, North Carolina can rise from the bottom third of states into the Top 10!
The NC "Budget and Tax Center," aka the "NC Justice Center," aka the NAACP and half a dozen other special interest groups, certainly puts forward an interesting perspective.
I would like to suggest, however, that the data tells a slightly different tale. More specifically, if Senate Democrats are successful in passing the $1 billion Services tax under discussion, North Carolina will move from the top 1/3 of states in terms of a favorable sales tax climate to one of the 10 worst states in the country.
My favorite paragraph in Mr Robertson's article deals with golf, a recent target of at least two articles designed to shame owners of services businesses into submission and enflame class consciousness. If you can afford to play golf, surely you can afford to pay $1.5 billion in new taxes, right?
In reality, businesses ranging from your local hairdresser to your local movie theater will feel the impact of Bev's $1.5 billion tax grab. As a regular customer of dozens of the 80 services that Bev would like to tax, you will also feel the impact in your pocketbook.
Filed under: Government
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North Carolina ranks 38th for sales tax.
North Carolina ranks 37th for individual income tax.
North Carolina ranks 37th for property tax.
North Carolina ranks 26th for corporate income tax.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp58.pdf
North Carolina will move to the bottom of the list for overall tax climate if Bev's $1.5 billion tax increase is enacted by the General Assembly.
GOLO member since June 6, 2009
July 5, 2009 6:15 p.m.
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