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Posted by : Wednesday, February 5, 2014 7 Comments In NC Budget and Tax Center, Uncategorized

When it comes to educating our children, the public is pretty clear in understanding you get what you pay for.

In a recent poll released by High Point University, 72% of respondents said they would favor a tax increase to raise teacher pay in North Carolina to the national average. These results are similar to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted in November which revealed that 68% of North Carolinians opposed cutting funding for public schools to provide taxpayers a tax cut.

Despite North Carolinians’ willingness to pay to ensure adequate funding of our public schools so that children can be better prepared for a 21st century economy, legislators moved in the opposite direction this past legislative session. Not only were teachers, whose salaries ranked 46th in the nation in 2012, denied a pay increase this year, but the salary incentive for teachers who earn master’s degree was eliminated and additional cuts were made to professional development and recruitment programs.

The legislature further undermined the ability of public education to prepare children for their future by reducing funds available for instructional supplies and textbooks, increasing teacher to student ratios and cutting funding for teacher assistants.

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Posted by : Friday, January 17, 2014 5 Comments In NC Budget and Tax Center

This month, taxpayers receiving their paychecks are seeing changes in their take-home pay.  Some will see more, some less since the tax plan passed last year delivers income tax cuts depending on individual taxpayer circumstances.

The benefits from the new tax law will accrue primarily to the wealthiest taxpayers and profitable corporations. In total, the tax plan passed last year reduces revenue by nearly $525 million over the next two years. The foregone investments for our communities that will result from these tax cuts will impact us all.

Consider what could have been done to improve the classroom experience of our students in K-12 public schools if policymakers hadn’t chosen to cut taxes for the wealthy and profitable corporations. These dollars could have been used to provide a package of investments in public education such as:

  • Keeping 1 in 5 teacher assistant jobs in FY15
  • Doubling current funding for textbooks in FY15 Read More
Posted by : Thursday, November 21, 2013 4 Comments In NC Budget and Tax Center

A majority of North Carolinians oppose tax cuts that put at risk the state’s investment in public education, a recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey shows. When presented with cutting funding for public schools in order to provide taxpayers a tax cut, 68% of North Carolinians oppose such a move.

The tax plan signed by Governor McCrory earlier this year reduced available revenue by $525 million over the next two years and revenue in future years is reduced even further. Benefits from tax cuts in the tax plan will largely flow to the wealthy and profitable corporations, which represent less than 10 percent of all businesses in North Carolina. Under the tax plan, the wealthiest taxpayers will see their taxes cut on average by more than $9,000, with top 1 percent of income earners getting 65 percent of the total net tax cut.

Opposition to cutting investments in public education to provide such tax cuts extends across ideology and political affiliation. Read More

Posted by : Wednesday, November 6, 2013 8 Comments In NC Budget and Tax Center

Nearly half of likely North Carolina voters familiar with the tax cut package state lawmakers enacted this year oppose it, while only 42 percent support it. Don’t take our word for it. That’s what a poll by a prominent supporter of the package shows.

Of course, the group that commissioned the poll, Americans for Prosperity, chose to highlight other results that were more favorable to its position. But those results came only after the respondents were given one-sided information about the tax package, which slashed income taxes for profitable corporations and the wealthy.

Among those who had heard “a lot” or “some” information about the tax package even before the pollster called, 47% opposed it. Forty-two percent supported it and 11% weren’t sure. Read More

Posted by : Wednesday, July 31, 2013 3 Comments In Uncategorized

No, that headline is not a typo.postpic

North Carolina’s Department of Cultural Resources – you know, the folks with the mission to enrich lives and communities and create opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina – has a post on its Facebook page in which it touts the state’s new and regressive tax changes and links to a Forbes.com article on the subject.

I suppose you can chalk it up to loyal administration staffers simply cheerleading for the people that hired them, but the post has ticked off a heck of a lot of Facebook commenters who are used to coming to the page to read about, you know, cultural issues. As of Thursday afternoon, 63 people had commented.

Here are a few of the mostly negative responses to the surprisingly political entry:

“I really enjoy the posts about NC culture and history. This post is neither.”

“I totally thought this was a gag post. Sad to say it was not.”

“What a Crock of Inappropriateness…Shame on you North Carolina Culture.”

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