RALEIGH – Just last week, a bipartisan North Carolina Senate approved a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow voters to decide whether to lower the state’s maximum possible income tax rate from 10 percent to seven percent.
The House of Representatives has already passed what is being referred to as Senate Bill 75, and it will appear on the ballots this November.
Since assuming leadership of the General Assembly in 2011, legislative Republicans have overhauled the state’s tax code, lowering rates and getting rid of loopholes that have helped the vast majority of North Carolinians to keep more of their own tax dollars.
These changes have also resulted in the creation of thousands of new jobs and budget surpluses. If voters approve of the proposed amendment, they could help ensure that the changes that have been made will not be reversed. Under a Democratic state government in 2010, North Carolinians paid some of the highest taxes in the Southeast; the current administration does not want to see a return to the previous rate.
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) had this to say, issuing this statement following the proposed amendment’s passage:
“North Carolina had some of the highest taxes in the Southeast when Democrats controlled the legislature. Legislative Republicans have substantially reduced the tax burden and put more money back into the pockets of hard-working families and businesses. With this amendment, voters can say no to a return to the days of spendthrift politicians, high taxes and multi-billion dollar deficits by placing this protection in our state constitution.”
By Vivian Alana Caesar
