Tag: Tax reform

Together NC statement on Senate tax plan: Red flags raised by the Senate’s tax reform plan

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May 7, 2013 at 5:11 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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The North Carolina Senate’s tax reform plan released today is long on promises and short on details. It is unclear how fair the purported “Tax Fairness Plan” will prove to be. Several red flags are raised by this plan, which should raise the alarm for all those concerned with a budget and tax system that supports economic opportunity and the foundation of economic growth.

One red flag is the surprising lack of details about how tax cuts will be offset by expanding the sales tax base enough to keep our vital services and infrastructure in place.

Another red flag is that this plan does not purport nor attempt to raise the same level of revenue as the state is currently taking in. The plan as outlined by Senator Berger will result in at least one billion dollars in revenue loss—revenue that could be dedicated to important and necessary services and infrastructure in the state. For example, one billion dollars is equal to the entire community college system budget in North Carolina. Read More…

Jared Bernstein on today’s tax reform debate

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May 7, 2013 at 4:40 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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Jared Bernstein, former chief economic advisor for Vice President Biden, debated tax reform with Elizaebth Malm of the Tax Foundation today at an event co-hosted by the Budget and Tax Center, the Civitas Institute, and the Institute on Emerging Issues at NC State University.

In a blog post following the event, Bernstein reflected on some of the key themes that came out of the debate, especially the Great Tax Shift proposed by some in the General Assembly that would ask working and low income families to pay more in sales taxes in order to finance income tax cuts for the wealthiest North Carolinians.

Read Bernstein’s blog post here, and watch video of the event here.

How do you like your taxes? Progressive or regressive?

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May 7, 2013 at 3:20 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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One of the few points of consensus that the right and left can come to on North Carolina’s tax system is that it’s badly in need of fixing.

The particulars how to do that, and how much taxes different groups should pay, widely differs from that point on, and were the topic of a luncheon debate this afternoon on N.C. State University’s campus and hosted by the N.C. Institute of Emerging Issues, the conservative Civitas Institute and the N.C. Justice Center’s Budget and Tax Center.

Wonky terms like regressive, progressive taxes and supply-side tax policy were tossed around, in the context of a larger conversation about what slashing taxes can do to a community.

Read More…

The long-term benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit

May 3, 2013 at 4:33 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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Research has long shown that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for working families significantly encourages work—especially among single mothers—and reduces child poverty more than any other existing policy tool. Although the EITC is largely a temporary support, new research by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicates that this tax credit generates broader benefits that extend well into adulthood for the recipients’ young children. These children perform better in school, are more likely to go to college, and earn more when they reach adulthood.

For instance, a $3,000 boost in income from the EITC during a child’s early years is associated with a boost in educational achievement that is equivalent to an extra two months of schooling. And as illustrated in the infographic below, a boost in income from the EITC during a child’s early years can contribute to a significant increase in earnings in adulthood as well as increased work activity for individuals between the ages of 25 and 37. Read More…

New BTC tools explain this year’s key tax bills

May 3, 2013 at 2:49 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Confused about the state of tax “reform” in the 2013 General Assembly? Check out these two very useful and user-friendly tools from the N.C. Budget and Tax Center:

This one-page chart gives you the facts you need on all of the major tax proposals introduced thus far in 2013.

This very brief (back and front) document tells you how to assess proposals by yourself.

And don’t forget Financing the Future: Debating State State Tax Reform for North Carolina - a special debate a debate on tax reform in North Carolina, featuring Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities and Elizabeth Malm of The Tax Foundation, two national experts on the subject of taxation and finance. The event is co-sponsored by the BTC, the Pope-Civitas Institute and the Institute for Emerging Issues at NC State University next Tuesday May 7 at 11:45 a.m. 

Click here for more information.