Spending & Taxes

Author Jon Sanders studies professor salaries across the United States and finds that the pay of North Carolina's college and university professors, when adjusted for cost of living, is comparable to the pay of faculty in other states. (Not available online.)

Three new studies should give North Carolina policymakers pause about the state's current economic development policy. A Kenan Institute survey of international firms throws cold water on the notion that selective tax breaks for big business are an effective means of creating jobs. Along with two other reports, it suggests a different growth agenda: improve core public services such as roads and schools, tackle electricity restructuring, and reduce and reform taxes for everyone.

The lengthy budget negotiations between House and Senate this year resulted in a compromise that gave the Senate its spending priorities this year and the House its tax cuts in future years. Overall, when accounted for correctly, the state General Fund budget will top $13.1 billion in FY 1998-99, representing an 11 percent increase from last year. Spending growth outweighs tax cuts in FY 1998-99 by a ratio of 25 to 1 — but the picture improves somewhat in the out years, when House-sought cuts in sales and inheritance taxes are phased in.

Summary: The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has proposed a capital spending plan calling for nearly $5 billion over the next decade to modernize and expand the system. To pay for it, UNC wants the authority to raise funds by the issuance of two kinds of bonds that would not be subject to voter approval. While there is undeniable need to renovate academic buildings, taking care of the worst needs over the next four years would cost about $1.1 billion and could be handled through the existing budget process if repair and renovation were made the top university priority. The need for a large-scale construction program is dubious and does not require the use of non-voter-approved bonds.

State lawmakers will consider today a revised tax and spending plan for the 2001-03 biennium that promises to shove an already teetering economy, buffeted by layoffs and the prospect of war, into a full-blown and painful recession. Its massive tax hike will fuel a healthy increase in wasteful state spending and help to push the state’s tax burden well above that of Massachusetts, California, and all the Southeastern states — and higher than the national average for the first time.

Gov. Mike Easley and other proponents are reportedly preparing to resurrect the idea of a state lottery for North Carolina. The case for this regressive and unpredictable source of revenue has, if anything, weakened in recent months, as other states with lotteries have experienced significant revenue shortfalls. The fact remains that Easley is overestimating the lottery’s potential revenue, thus creating the risk of additional tax increases in the future to make up the difference.

North Carolina's public school leaders are touting rising scores on state tests to prove that things aren't as bad as critics complain. However, the current method of calculating school performance misleads the public. The emphasis on "growth" shifts attention from true student achievement to a manufactured "feel-good" measure.

North Carolinians deserve a complete and accurate picture of how their public schools are doing relative to rigorous national and international academic standards. The state's current accountability system, the ABCs of Public Education, is a good first step but needs improvement to increase the reliability and usefulness of information provided to parents and taxpayers.

A new plan from N.C. House Democrats to increase state and local taxes by another $633 million in FY 01-02 would further damage North Carolina's already weakening economy. If passed, the tax hikes would push North Carolina's tax burden higher than the national average for the first time in history, and 12 percent higher than the regional average. Our tax burden would far exceed those of such states as California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

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.