North Carolina’s decade of tax reform
Naysayers from the political left warned that revenues would plummet, and our state would face a budget crisis.
North Carolina was profiled in a recent Pewtrusts.org article as one of five states that uses a “budget stress test” to determine how much money should be set aside in its rainy-day fund to avert a future crisis such as a recession or major disaster like a hurricane.
N.C. Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper signed the state’s $27.9 billion budget into law Monday afternoon, avoiding a last-minute deadline.
The North Carolina Legislature released its latest proposed budget Tuesday night which includes raises for teachers and state employees, a school safety fund, and money for capital and infrastructure projects.
North Carolina Senate Democrats held a press conference Wednesday, June 15 to announce their “North Carolina Families Plan.” Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, Wake, said the plan was based on different pieces of legislation and the budget proposals laid out by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Federal Reserve announced an increase in interest rates Wednesday, the largest increase in a single meeting in nearly 30 years. The Biden Administration is blaming Putin and says inflation is global. Economists tell a different story.
As gas prices pass $4.50 a gallon in N.C., one grassroots group rolls back the cost to remind voters what it used to be like.
Gov. Roy Cooper wants to increase the state budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year from $27 billion to $29.3 billion, an increase of 8.5%. The money would come from $6.2 billion in additional revenue spelled out in the state’s latest forecast. Cooper would place another $2.4 billion in reserves, leaving the remaining $1.5 billion unspent....
A candidate for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has accused the county government of using public dollars to illegally promote the passage of a $1.7 billion school bond and quarter cent sales tax increase. The referendums are on the ballot for the May 17 primary and early voting is already underway. By law, county governments are permitted to use taxpayer funds to conduct educational campaigns surrounding ballot referendums. But governments are strictly prohibited from actively promoting the passage of those referendum. That sets up a fine line between education and advocacy that counties often appear to cross.
Given continued spending discipline and even moderate revenue growth, we can do away with the corporate tax as scheduled, or even accelerate the phase-out, without imperiling core services.
The federal government’s fiscal response to COVID was excessive, poorly targeted, and badly administered. Its costs will burden us for many years to come.
The N.C. House on Thursday passed a resolution supporting Ukraine before following the Senate’s lead and voting to adjourn its long-running session. “This is the longest long session in the history of the state, and this is a record I hope we don’t try to break,” said N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. The Ukraine...