County financial stability a must in tax reform | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

    Competing plans in the N.C. House and Senate feature widely different approaches to the issue of tax reform. Counties are concerned with the potential loss of county revenues in the final plan that will be adopted when House and Senate leaders confer to work out the differences between the two plans.

    "This past January, our members unanimously adopted a goal to preserve the local revenue base and to protect county revenues in tax reform efforts," said NCACC Executive Director David F Thompson. "We must make sure the final plan is not simply a statewide tax cut funded by reductions in county government taxing authority."

    The version tentatively passed by the Senate on June 13 takes away several revenue streams from counties, including the local sales tax on food and the exemption for counties from paying sales taxes. The plan expands the sales tax base slightly to generate new revenues for counties. The NCACC estimates a net loss of $82 million to N.C. county governments if all components of the Senate's tax reform plan are implemented by 2018.

    The House plan expands the sales tax base slightly but leaves in place the county sales tax on food and the exemption for counties from paying sales taxes. The NCACC estimates the House's adopted version would net counties an additional $74 million in sales tax revenues when it is fully implemented in 2018.

    The NCACC is examining both proposals and will provide information soon about how each of these plans impacts counties on a county-by-county basis.

    "We have expressed to legislative leaders our hope that tax reform be a meaningful approach to developing a revenue system that will provide stability and equity for the state and all 100 county governments now and in the future," said Thompson.

    For more information, contact Todd McGee, NCACC Public Relations Director, at (919) 715-7336 or todd.mcgee@ncacc.org.

    About the NCACC: The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly, Congress and federal and state agencies. Founded in 1908, the Association provides expertise to counties in the areas of lobbying, fiscal and legal research, communications, intergovernmental relations, information technology, field visits and risk management services.

    Contact: Todd McGee,

     (919) 715-7336  •  todd.mcgee@ncacc.org