North Carolina lawmakers approved their state budget this month, a budget constrained by limited aspirations. The pursuit of a rigid spending formula combined with another round of tax breaks prevented lawmakers from proposing an adequate budget, let alone a bold one, as we explain in our new Budget & Tax Center report.
The new tax breaks in the budget come on top of recent tax breaks, which together are projected to cost more than $2 billion annually once fully implemented. While the budget reinvests in some worthy programs and services, these investments are just a small fraction of what we need to build thriving communities and boost economic opportunity in North Carolina. The reality is that without tax giveaways to the wealthy and powerful, much more could have been possible to improve North Carolinians’ quality of life and to build a stronger, more inclusive economy for all.
Read the report to learn more about what lawmakers prioritized in the 2017 fiscal year budget, areas where investments fall short of what’s needed to help North Carolinians thrive, and what lawmakers’ fiscal decisions mean for the state’s ability to boost quality of life and shared prosperity.
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