Lawmakers make progress on NC budget, including tax cut deal

Top state lawmakers have agreed to fresh tax cuts as part of ongoing budget talks, but the cuts would be tied to triggers, meaning they’d only happen if state revenues stay strong enough to clear certain targets, Speaker of the House Tim Moore said Monday.

Moore, R-Cleveland, didn't release additional details, beyond confirming that he and Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger have agreed to additional personal income tax cuts tied to triggers.

Berger's office said Friday that he and Moore found agreement on a tax package and other key differences, signaling important movement in budget negotiations, since the tax cuts have been one of the major House-Senate disagreements holding up a budget that's now a month overdue. July 1 is the start of the state fiscal year.

The Senate's more aggressive tax cut proposal, Cooper wrote in a press release Monday, "would largely benefit the wealthiest 20% of North Carolina’s taxpayers while putting critical areas that require robust state funding at risk."

Cooper's opinion, however, means less this year than it has in the past. Republicans now have enough votes in both the House and Senate to pass bills like the budget into law, even if Cooper vetoes them.

House and Senate negotiators have also agreed on raises for teachers and state employees, but they haven't released details. Moore said Monday that enough other issues — including "a few minor details” on taxes — remain that General Assembly votes to pass the budget aren’t likely to happen until the middle of August. Moore said he and Berger, R-Rockingham, planed to continue negotiations on Monday.

Moore said new tolls for ferries on the coast, contemplated in the Senate budget proposal, won’t be in the final budget. Nor will language authorize new toll roads, he said.