2 tax amendments will be on the ballot for North Carolina voters this November

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Two proposed changes to North Carolina’s tax laws are now headed to voters in November after lawmakers approved both constitutional amendments this week.

Western North Carolina political science professor Dr. Chris Cooper says both amendments involve taxes, but in different ways.

“Part of the fight here is essentially about how much people should be taxed, but some of it is also about local government power and how much power should local governments have to be able to levy the higher property taxes to fulfill their needs,” Cooper said.

The first amendment seeks to permanently cap the state’s income tax rate at 3.5%, which Republican state leaders say is necessary.

“Now we’re at a point where we’ve proven that we are able to cut and we are still able to generate revenue by the business policies that we’ve had,” Rep. Mark Pless said.

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Democratic leaders, however, argue that the change would limit the state’s ability to raise revenue.

“If we’re saying that constitutionally the legislature can never raise the personal income tax above 3.5 percent, then we are necessarily limiting our ability to generate revenue to meet the needs of our growing state,” Senator Julie Mayfield said.

The second proposal focuses on property taxes and would limit how much local governments can increase them.

Democrats say the cap could reduce funding for schools, disaster response and local government services.

“Property taxes are the primary funder for local governments and the services they provide, and if we start limiting their ability to increase that revenue, again, to match their increasing needs, then communities are going to suffer, and public services are going to suffer,” Mayfield said.

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Republicans counter that voters should have a direct say in how tax policy is set.

“Members on the other side of the aisle wanted to say that it was going to raise gas, it was going to raise groceries, it was going to cause rent to go up, and that’s just not feasible. Reducing the income tax is only going to reduce the amount they pay for government services,” Pless said.

Some political observers also say the amendments are part of a broader political strategy ahead of the election.

“These are tools to turn out more conservative voters in a midterm election where the Republicans are worried that their voters aren’t going to turn out. That is the motivation behind all of these,” Mayfield said.

Political experts say these likely won’t be the only amendments on the ballot, and more could be placed before voters in November.