North Carolina collected $400.2 million more in revenue than forecast at the end of the 2017-18 Fiscal Year as “a steadily growing economy produced yet another fiscal surplus,” according to a new report from the state’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The state collected $176.1 million more in individual income tax than it forecast and $63.2 […]
While most state government watchers were focused on a last-minute legislation at the General Assembly, some good news came out of the Office of the State Controller. The General Fund Monthly Financial Report reported that when compared to the prior year – through May 31st — net tax and non-tax revenues were up $834.9 million, […]
Since 2010, when voters put Republicans in charge of most state governments across the United States, North Carolina became one of about a half-dozen states where conservative reformers have frequently — and sometimes spectacularly — faced off with progressives in ways that have attracted significant national attention. In 2011, the new GOP-majority General Assembly defeated […]
Employment figures released earlier this week by the state Department of Commerce show that the number of people employed in North Carolina increased by a total of 85,879 throughout 2017, while the number of people unemployed decreased by 20,263 over the same year-long period. The employment growth data follows a positive revenue outlook released by the […]
Fraud prevention laws recently enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly are guarding against identity theft and protecting millions in state revenue from scammers this tax season. The state Department of Revenue (DOR) attributed an 18% uptick in cases of identified fraud and a 20% uptick in savings for the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year to the […]
The Republicans have enjoyed majorities in both bodies of the General Assembly for nearly seven years now, and pretty soon Phil Berger and Tim Moore will be asking for two more. This is an appropriate time to assess their performance on the economy. Even under the Perdue and Cooper governorships, policy outputs were shaped greatly […]
Hundreds of thousands of hardworking North Carolinians will no longer pay any state income tax by 2019, thanks to several rounds of tax relief provided by the legislature’s Republican majority. A recent memo from the head economist at the non-partisan Fiscal Research Division notes that “of the nearly 4 million tax returns anticipated for tax […]
Planning your summer vacation and looking for some light beach reading? Joseph Coletti over at the John Locke Foundation has you covered with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s state budget: A New State Budget Based On Time-Tested Principles In his 1985 address to the North Carolina Foundation for Research and Economic Education (NC FREE), […]
Study: North Carolina is best state for starting a business by Danielle Chemtob, TBJ News Intern, Triangle Business Journal Entrepreneurs and business owners need look no further than the Tar Heel state to set up shop — North Carolina came out on top in a new study of the best states to start a business. […]
With a bipartisan majority of 76 to 43, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted yesterday to override the governor’s recent budget veto. The budget, now state law, enacts another round of middle-class tax cuts, a fourth consecutive teacher pay raise, and a record-high savings reserve. “The governor chose partisanship over the people of North […]
Legislation passed the House overwhelmingly last month that will help stimulate commerce and job creation for coin dealers and those in the Precious Metals trade. House Bill 434 updates current sales tax laws to allow for the exemption from sales taxes for the commercial sales of gold and silver bullion and coins. Included in the exemption is the […]
After two weeks of negotiations between Senate and House conferees, the compromise budget was introduced late last night, starting the clock on when the House can take up the bill. Under Senate rules, the Senate can take up the bill immediately, and it will likely take up the bill today and tomorrow. Under House rules, […]
The following article was written by Matt Caulder and is reproduced from yesterday’s NC Capitol Connection: Both the House and the Senate have put forward tax cut plans for the coming biennial budget. The competing plans will be discussed in earnest as legislators work to craft a budget plan to send to the governor for […]
With The Bathroom Bill Gone, Here Are 5 Things Happening In North Carolina For The Media To Cover by Patrick Gleason Between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels beating Gonzaga to win the men’s college basketball national championship on Monday, and the North Carolina General Assembly last Thursday repealing House Bill 2, commonly referred […]
Yesterday, leaders of the House Finance Committee filed House Bill 356, “The Tax Reduction Act of 2017,” calling for another round of tax cuts for North Carolina’s families and businesses. This comprehensive legislation builds on the historic tax reforms that have stimulated the state’s rapid economic growth since 2013. House Bill 356 would once again increase North Carolina’s “standard deduction,” this time […]
The N.C. Technology Association’s 2017 ‘State of Technology’ report ranked North Carolina No. 1 in the United States for IT employment growth and the percentage of women in the sector’s workforce. The report compares tech job trends across the United States between 2010 and 2015, ranking North Carolina according to key metrics such as IT […]
The following piece was written by North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell and first appeared in the North State Journal on February 8, 2016. What We’ve Done for North Carolina North Carolina was once a state that was defined by slow economic growth, high unemployment, burdensome taxes, and massive federal debt. Our great state […]
We’re all familiar with that old saw “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin wrote those words in a letter to French physicist Jean-Baptiste Leroy in late 1789, two years after the adoption of the United States Constitution and just six months before his death in the spring of 1790. And while it’s taken centuries […]
Guest post by John Hood North Carolina’s economy continues to outperform the national and regional averages — which is one reason why, the results of the gubernatorial election notwithstanding, the state’s policy fundamentals are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. A few days ago, the federal government released its latest estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) […]
While our friends on the left continue to complain about how conservative economic policies are holding North Carolina back, the state continues to enjoy lower unemployment and unprecedented budget surpluses. It was announced yesterday that for the first quarter (July – September) of the current (2016-17) Fiscal Year, North Carolina collected $191 million more in tax […]
Tax and budget changes likely to be modest Top GOP lawmakers say 2017 session likely to keep major reforms in place as increases in teacher compensation kick in Guest Post by Barry Smith Top legislative budget and tax writers say the N.C. General Assembly isn’t likely to tackle more extensive tax reform next year. Nor […]
Breaking a 140-year streak of one-party rule in North Carolina, in 2011 Republicans gained the majority in both chambers of the state legislature. And they went right to work implementing a whole host of pro-growth reforms which have powered an economic recovery that’s the envy of the nation. Since 2011, North Carolinians have enjoyed more […]
Since 2013, the Republican-led legislature has implemented a series of pro-growth tax reforms that have lowered everyone’s income tax rates, widened the sales tax base, tripled the standard deduction, and restructured the tax code by eliminating old-fashioned tax brackets and replacing them with a simple flat tax. In North Carolina, the result has been record […]
Guest post by John Hood North Carolina almost made another top-10 list this year — but don’t worry, our state seems likely to make the cut in 2017. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan institute based in Washington, has long published a report called the State Business Tax Climate Index. It ranks all 50 states and […]
From the Tax Foundation’s 2017 State Business Tax Climate Index: After the most dramatic improvement in the Index’s history — from 44th to 15th in one year — North Carolina has continued to improve its tax structure, and now imposes the lowest-rate corporate income tax in the country at 4 percent, down from 5 percent […]
State Unemployment Rate Drops Lower, Remains Below National Average Governor Pat McCrory announced today that North Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped even lower to 4.6 percent in August, the lowest since April 2007. “North Carolina has seen one of the largest decreases in unemployment in the nation since 2013 and we are home to one of […]
North Carolina’s economy continues to recover and grow at a faster and stronger rate than others in our region and in the nation as whole. NC is a national model in reforms that work. Since 2013, 300,000 net new jobs, unemployment rate cut in half, incomes up. Today’s news from the US Census about US […]
In another encouraging sign for North Carolina’s economy, Governor Pat McCrory announced that for the third time this year, the State Budget Office has revised revenue figures upward above May projections by $95 million. The state is projecting a final revenue surplus of $425 million, mainly driven by more people working and earning more money. […]