r/NewBern • u/mellilala • 6h ago
Tax Amendments On Ballot Are Not a Tax Cut and Not What They Seem
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Income tax cap: Lowers the existing cap from 7 to 3.5 percent
- It is not a tax cut. It applies to both the corporate and personal rate. Both rates are already scheduled to be below 3.5 percent next year.
- The NC General Assembly has been cutting income taxes for 13 years. This has disproportionately benefitted large corporations and those with very high incomes.
- State revenue is falling as our population and costs grow. This is unsustainable and has led to underfunding of services and programs, and local governments paying for what are supposed to be state costs.
- Income tax cuts lead to increases in fees and sales taxes, and cuts to vital public services.
- The income tax amendment would lock us into this situation effectively permanently, so future lawmakers hands will be tied.
- NC has never had a rate this low, and it will be locked into the constitution. This leaves the state unprepared for economic downturns and unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters.
Property Tax Levy Limit: Caps what local governments can collect, NOT your bill
- It is not a cap on an individual’s property tax bill. It is a cap on the total revenue a local government can collect in property taxes.
- State lawmakers already have the power to set a levy limit, so the constitutional amendment is not necessary.
- Increasingly, local governments have been taking on costs that are supposed to be covered by the state and/or federal government. This amendment is likely to lead to service cuts as local governments struggle with state and local revenue constraints.
- It does not address housing unaffordability and would disproportionately benefit large corporate landowners like tech companies and corporate landlords.
- What the limit would be and how it would be derived is not public, so there is little recourse or accountability.
Before voting, consider the impact these amendments will have on your community:
- Who would benefit from these changes and who would be negatively impacted?
- What would these amendments mean for the funding of quality of life services my family and community rely on, like emergency services, community centers, libraries, public schools, water and sanitation…?
- How would these revenue constraints impact the ability of the state and local governments to provide services for a growing or aging population and respond to natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances in the future, especially as costs rise?
- What are specific projects prioritized by our community that are most at risk for delay or cancellation if state funding is uncertain and local government cannot collect sufficient revenue from property taxes to supplement decreases in state investment?
- How have state and federal funding levels changed over the last 5-10 years? What state funding responsibilities has my local government taken on over that same period?
- What specific funding shortfalls are we experiencing now, including staffing shortages, school closures, or services interruptions?
- What are the other methods of generating revenue if income tax and property tax revenue is constrained? Will our locality be forced to rely more on unpopular fees?
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