Help Stop a Flood of Tax Hikes in North Carolina

Legislators in Raleigh will be considering a new budget any day now, as they face a July 1 deadline.  For government reformers, a new budget sounds like a great idea as North Carolina faces a $4.6 billion deficit.  However, rather than cutting fat and waste in the budget, Governor Beverly Perdue’s plan calls for an additional $1.5 billion in spending for education, even as state revenues fall.

How does she and other House and Senate leaders plan to make up this huge difference?  With a big package of new taxes and fees applied inconsistently across the economy, picking and choosing the winners and losers.  The House and Senate are considering different plans, but here are a few of the suggestions on the table that will hurt North Carolina families and businesses.

  • A so-called “Amazon” sales-tax on internet purchases like digital books and music that will stifle commerce and presents constitutionality questions.
  • A $1-per-pack tax hike on cigarettes that comes on top of a recent federal hike and will push smokers to purchase cigarettes on the black market and hurt small businesses like convenience stores.
  • An alcohol tax that will slam an already suffering hospitality industry.
  • Taxes on lawn care and car repairs.
  • A sales tax hike.
  • A plan to tax on-line advertiser referral fees.  Any referral fees are already taxed as income, but this will turn online companies into tax collectors.  This is a hat some companies don’t want to wear and already Amazon.com has informed its affiliates in North Carolina that should this tax plan pass, they will be let go.
  • An income tax hike for certain tax brackets.

These taxes present a severe burden for families who are already suffering in this economic downturn and who face higher taxes and fees not only at the state level, but at the federal and county level.  Other taxes strike a blow directly at the heart of many businesses – some that are struggling to stay afloat, and some that have become the lynch-pin of communities and families that need their income and services.  The last thing that North Carolinians can afford is higher taxes.

Take Action and call your state representative at 919-733-7928.

It’s essential they hear from you and understand higher taxes won’t fix this budget.  Governments need to learn to live within their means just as families do.  Many of these same tax hike schemes have been tried in other states, but failed to address financial woes.  North Carolina should choose a different path.  Making the smart choice to cut spending and waste combined with lower taxes and less burdensome regulation will promote real, long term growth for the state.