Opinion
Economic liberty must be a priority for NC courts
It’s not too late to save our state’s unique free enterprise protections from a future as meaningless surplusage.
Opinion
GOP-led legislature made sure we saved for this rainy day
North Carolina now consistently ranks among the best states in which to do business.
News
Migration study shows Americans like N.C; likely due to friendly tax climate
A recent examination by the Tax Foundation shows North Carolina’s high net migration rate may be due to its friendly tax climate. The nonprofit, nonpartisan group annually examines migration trends, using data from United Van Lines, the largest moving company in the country. That company’s National Movers Study found that in 2020, Idaho saw the...
Opinion
Public backlash ensures distillers’ good deed goes unpunished
Assigning infallibility to government action is a fool’s errand. It’s a common refrain in libertarian and conservative circles, and its truth is grounded in history, as well as the government’s continuing and ubiquitous intrusion and overreach. I won’t take credit for the aforementioned paraphrased statement because Scott Maitland said it this week as we talked...
Opinion
Lower spending is the key to fiscal sustainability
As Tears for Fears sang in the 1980s, everybody wants their taxes lower. Well, that might not be the exact line, but the sentiment is shared across the political spectrum. Still, examples in other states and at the federal level provide frequent reminders that cutting taxes without cutting spending is unsustainable. In the past few...
Opinion
No kidding, North Carolina taxes illegal drugs
“Hey! Did you pay taxes on those drugs, mister?” Probably not, right? Unless you are buying your marijuana from a dispensary in a state where it’s legal, you probably aren’t paying taxes on your illicit substances. If not, you are likely committing two crimes: possession of a controlled substance and … tax evasion? That’s right....
Opinion
Pro-growth policies fueling North Carolina’s economic rise
What’s the theme for limited government, personal responsibility, opportunity and freedom across North Carolina for the 2018 election cycle? Keep on keepin’ on. Reforms since 2011 have transformed our state into an economic powerhouse, creating jobs and opportunities like never before. Tax cuts begun in 2011 have put $5 billion back into the economy; $10 billion by 2022. All North Carolinians...
Opinion
FLASHBACK: Tax cuts are not self-financing
Editor’s note: This Daily Journal by John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood originally ran here May 30, 2017. We are running it again in response to a story,”What happened when North Carolina cut taxes like the GOP plans to for the country,” published Sunday in The Washington Post. North Carolina Republicans have gotten right what Republicans...
Opinion
The deduction for state and local taxes: Fair and efficient tax policy
Should you ever be taxed on “income” that is not, in any meaningful sense, yours? This is the fundamental question facing Congress in deciding whether to eliminate the deductibility of state income and local property taxes from federal taxable income, a policy change proposed by President Trump. Unfortunately, this question is unlikely to become part of the...
Opinion
Local governments getting millions, and something’s just not right
There’s been a lot written about this year’s state budget, and there will be more. That’s what happens when you’re dealing with a 438-page bill allocating $24 billion. A lot of money, a lot of competing interests, a lot of detail. I looked at local government allocations in the budget previously, and it comes to tens of millions of dollars. In June, I...
Opinion
Trump tax plan should look familiar to North Carolinians
If you are a North Carolina taxpayer and you think something looks familiar about President Trump’s tax reform plan, you are right. In the three big areas of tax policy where the state and federal code overlap —the income tax, the estate or death tax, and the corporate tax — it’s quite clear North Carolina...
Opinion
State budget crisis unlikely, fiscal expert says
The Insider reported recently about a Fiscal Research Division analysis showing the Senate’s “Billion Dollar Middle Class Tax Cut” would lead to $600 million shortfalls in three of the next five years. Fiscal staff started from the assumption that state government would do all the same things the same way, just for more people. With these...
