Citizens Protest More NC Taxes

RALEIGH — Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee announced their latest budget proposals Wednesday morning, including higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol products. Committee hearings began Monday afternoon. Representatives from state agencies, from the mammoth Department of Public Instruction to the tiny Bladen County Hospital, gathered in Raleigh to ask the committee for additional funds at best, no budget cuts at worst. The committee did not expect the 70 members of Citizens for a Sound Economy who attended the meeting and spoke out against higher taxes and the lottery. “I think we caught them off guard, which is exactly what we wanted to do,” said CSE’s Rheta Burton.