Research Report
Sales Tax Hike Kills Jobs: Plan Could Raise Jobless Rate, Cut Border Sales
posted July 10, 2001 by John Hood
A plan to increase North Carolina's sales tax by up to one penny, with a corresponding reduction in tax reimbursements to local governments, could endanger the state's economic recovery and threaten tens of thousands of jobs. No change in expected revenue growth or threat to the state's bond rating would have consequences severe enough to justify a $400 to $800 million tax hike on families and businesses whose tax burden is already the highest in the Southeast.