Category: Taxes and Budget

• Do million-dollar earners really get a tax break 85 times as large as working-class families?

  Lowering the state income tax rate and increasing the standard deduction do not produce the effect Gov. Roy Cooper claims.

  by Mitch Kokai
• Lawmakers debate best way to handle taxation of internet sales

  From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 735: North Carolina lawmakers continue to wrestle with the best way to handle taxation of sales made over the internet. One idea under discussion would force online vendors to collect sales tax in North Carolina if they have gross sales of at least…

• Carolina Journal Radio No. 735: Governor ties North Carolina to Paris climate accord

  After President Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper joined more than 1,000 public officials across the country in signing an open letter pledging continued support for the agreement. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, analyzes Cooper’s action and the…

  by Rick Henderson, Dr. Terry Stoops
• Senate committee sets Thursday vote for opioid prevention bill

  A jarring supply of opioids is flooding North Carolina. Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, said if all of the opioid pills prescribed in the past 12 months were counted, “every man woman and child would have a bottle of 100 in their hand. This is an excessive amount of these very,…

  by Dan Way
• Good government built on honesty and openness

  “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Credited to Louis Brandeis from Harper’s Weekly in 1913, it was true then, and it’s true today. Shedding light on government leaves it transparent, open, accessible, and accountable. It’s also harder to do bad things when you know someone is watching. I’ve…

  by Becki Gray
• JLF’s John Hood grades the N.C. House budget

  John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood grades the N.C. House’s 2017-19 budget plan. Hood offered these comments during the June 11, 2017, edition of “N.C. Spin.”…

  by John Hood
• JLF’s Becki Gray pans N.C. programs offering targeted tax incentives

  Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, explains why North Carolina would be better off if state government avoided awarding targeted tax incentives. Gray offered these comments during the June 9, 2017, edition of the N.C. Channel’s “Bottom Line” program.

  by Becki Gray
• 2017 state budget: Education/workforce development

  Alternatives to the traditional four-year university are getting the attention of the General Assembly. The House and Senate have set aside serious funding for workforce development programs. Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget mentioned apprenticeship programs as well but didn’t put up as much money. Lawmakers made commitments to specific programs, while the governor’s…

  by Lindsay Marchello
• Carolina Journal Radio No. 733: U.S. Supreme Court strikes down old N.C. congressional maps

  The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down congressional election maps North Carolina used in 2012 and 2014. The justices agreed, 5-3, with a lower court that ruled two of the election districts were unconstitutional cases of racial gerrymandering. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, assesses the impact of the Supreme Court’s…

  by Julie Tisdale, Rick Henderson
• JLF’s Becki Gray explains why N.C. businesses should like the House budget

  Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, lists three items N.C. businesses should like about the state House budget. Gray offered these comments during the June 2, 2017, edition of the N.C. Channel’s “Bottom Line.”…

  by Becki Gray