How Savvy is the State With Our Money?

RALEIGH — Tax day is looming over me. The sight of the tax forms waiting patiently on my roll-top oak desk inspires new waves of fear, resentment and existential angst. Questions such as, “Do we get what we pay for when it comes to paying state taxes?” tug at my sleeve.

“It’s not as efficient because the public sector is not as open to market forces as the private sector,” said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State. “As a result, you’re paying too much because there’s likely to be some inefficiencies and waste. On the other hand, some would make the argument that it (the state’s higher education system) is relatively cheap and fairly good.”

Individual income taxes are the state’s largest revenue source. They accounted last year for slightly more than $8 billion of the state’s $14.5 billion budget. Sales and use taxes, corporate income- and franchise taxes contributed $3.8 billion, $780.7 million and $488.4 million respectively to the state’s coffers. Most of that money went to fund public education, health and human services and corrections.

North Carolina state and local taxes in 2000 devoured an average of 10.3 percent of personal income. The state ranks 21st in the nation when comparing its average tax burden to other states. South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia had tax burdens of 9.5 percent, 8.5 percent and 10 percent respectively, according to the national Tax Foundation.

“We don’t think that services are appreciably better here than in any other state,” said Don Carrington, vice-president of the John Locke Foundation, a conservative, public policy think-tank. “The problem is spending has grown too fast. We have doubled the budget in the past decade.”

The Locke Foundation and Citizens for a Sound Economy, a conservative grass-roots organization, are traveling the state for a series of presentations including one in Asheville at noon Thursday at the Cornerstone Restaurant and another at 6:30 p.m. at Brevard High School.

Their message may be well-received by voters. A Republican poll conducted last August reported 63 percent of those surveyed favored a cut in spending as opposed to 17 percent who said they preferred a tax increase.

But when faced with real-life choices, voters voice different opinions. Jodi Kautz, whose son receives speech and physical therapy at the Developmental Evaluation Center in Hickory, said she would pay higher taxes to save the center, which faces significant downsizing in the latest round of budget cuts.

“I’ve seen what it can do for my child and other children,” said Kautz, 31. “When you don’t have a child who has to receive these services, you don’t think about these things.”

But lawmakers, not voters, must confront these decisions when they return to session next month.