Opinion

Cut state tax on capital gains

Over the past decade, the General Assembly has pursued a tax-reform strategy designed to foster growth and expand freedom in the Tar Heel State. North Carolina now has a flat-rate income tax. State taxes on both personal income and retail sales apply lower rates to broader bases. And lawmakers are in the process of phasing...

John Hood
Opinion

State tax reforms foster manufacturing

Site Selection just released its latest “Best States for Manufacturing” report. North Carolina ranked second in the nation in 2023, behind only South Carolina. The study relies on three categories of data: 1) workforce and market alignment, 2) operating costs, and 3) geographic positioning. North Carolina compares favorably with other states in all three, but...

John Hood
Opinion

On tax reform, set firm priorities

Negotiators from the North Carolina House and Senate are current hashing out a compromise budget for the fiscal year that begins in July. One of the sticking points, it seems, is how best to build on the state’s impressive record of tax reduction and reform. Before the Republicans won their legislative majorities in 2010, North...

John Hood

Help Support Non-profit Journalism & Donate Today

News

North Carolina ranks 10th in nation for positive tax climate

North Carolina places 10th in the nation for its tax environment, according to new rankings from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation. The Tar Heel State’s 2.5% corporate income tax helped the state achieve its better score, coming in fifth best nationally. North Carolina placed 17th for the individual income tax rate, 20th for the sales tax rate,...

David N. Bass
News

National tax group praises N.C. legislators, urges more reform

A letter from the head of a national tax reform group touts N.C. lawmakers’ “leadership in advancing pro-growth tax policies.” The letter from Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform calls for legislators to consider even more tax-related changes as they begin a new session.

CJ Staff
Opinion

Myths and facts about the corporate income tax

BACKGROUND On January 21, 2018, the federal corporate income tax rate dropped from 35% to 21%. The corporate income tax rate in North Carolina fell to 2.5% in 2019. As recently as 2011, the North Carolina corporate income tax rate was 6.9%. This article explains the reasons for these reductions. Governor Roy Cooper always equates...

Paul Stam
News

Senate budget offers bonuses and raises for state employees, deeper tax cuts for all

In a press conference Monday afternoon, Republican state senators presented a state budget proposal they say is grounded in North Carolina’s strong fiscal position after a decade of prudent budgeting. The Senate proposes returning a portion of surplus revenues to taxpayers and advancing needed capital infrastructure projects in their version of the two-year budget. Senate...

Dallas Woodhouse
News

Vaping tax vanishes from modified Senate tax-cut bill

The vape tax disappeared by the time its mini-budget made it to the House floor. The House Finance Committee sprung an amendment that would tax e-cigarette and vapor products on Senate Bill 557 in committee, Wednesday, Oct. 30. The amendment cleared the Finance Committee that morning with strong support, but was scrubbed in the House...

Julie Havlak
News

Last-minute vaping tax proposal could threaten other tax reforms

State legislators have sent a tax on vaping to the House. The House Finance Committee amended a mini-budget, Senate Bill 557, Wednesday, Oct. 30, to raise the tax on vaping and send part of the tax revenue toward the Tobacco Use Prevention Fund.  Representatives called the tax the “first step” in tackling the vaping crisis....

Julie Havlak