STATEMENT: Income tax rate cap amendment will bind the hands of future lawmakers and North Carolinians​

Statement from Alexandra Sirota, Director of the Budget & Tax Center, on House passage of SB75
RALEIGH (June 28, 2018) – The passage of Senate Bill 75, proposing a Constitutional amendment capping the income tax rate to lock in recent legislative decisions to reduce rates, is fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary.
In order to keep funding vital public services such as schools and public safety, lawmakers will likely have to raise the sales tax or fees, which will eat into middle class families’ paychecks and financially hurt those who are already struggling to get by.
Lawmakers are not trying to bring greater democracy to the budget process; they are trying to take choices away from future generations of North Carolinians.
Constitutions should be flexible and enduring frameworks for governing, not the place to impose the arbitrary whims of the moment on future generations.
Today’s vote shows just how arbitrary the rate is that legislators choose to enshrine in the state Constitution. The bottom line is that this is about further locking in low tax rates that primarily benefit the wealthy, cutting public investments that serve the common good, and shifting the costs for our state’s needs to local governments and the middle class.
In the end, the results of this unnecessary amendment will be costly for us all. The Senate should reject this proposal.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Alexandra Sirota, alexandra@ncjustice.org, 919-861-1468; Mel Umbarger, Senior Communications Specialist, at mel@ncjustice.org.
The Budget & Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center, conducts non-partisan analysis of state budget and tax policy and monitors economic conditions in the state. We produce timely and accessible research that contributes to policy discussions and public debate, with the goal of building a broader understanding of the role of policy in supporting economic opportunity for all.