state budget

A new survey of North Carolina’s most politically active business executives suggests that they do not agree with the current direction of public policy in the state. A sample of about 300 respondents from every region of North Carolina answered questions about fiscal policy, education, transportation, tax rates, regulation, and ways to improve economic competitiveness. This report provides not only data from the statewide sample but also from six regional subgroups: the Research Triangle, the Piedmont Triad, the Charlotte area, Northeastern North Carolina, Southeastern North Carolina, and Western North Carolina.

The North Carolina Senate is considering a budget plan for the 2003-05 biennium that would compound the House’s error in raising taxes in the midst of a slack economic recovery. While proponents of the plan claim that it would help families with children, the reality is that it would impose higher taxes on family purchases of such items as clothes, furniture, candy, soft drinks, and health insurance — in order to fund a $726 million increase in state spending, or 5.1 percent.

Political observers may welcome the North Carolina House’s uncharacteristic speed in devising its 2003-05 budget plan by its previously announced deadline of Easter weekend, but state taxpayers are unlikely to view its nearly $860 million in extra taxes over the next two fiscal years as timely given the weakness of the state’s economic recovery. By working harder to identify budget savings, lawmakers could have avoided the tax increase without adversely affecting teachers, prisons, or other core services of state government.

The North Carolina General Assembly faces a critical choice about the state’s fiscal direction: whether to extend nearly $500 million in tax increases that politicians had previously promised were “temporary,” or to find additional savings to balance the FY 2003-04 budget. Since the taxes were originally imposed in 2001, North Carolina’s business growth has fallen short of the Southastern average and its tax rates remain among the highest in the region and the nation. And according to the Tax Foundation, North Carolina's state/local tax burden has risen to 25th in the nation in 2003, up from 36th in 1998.

North Carolina faces significant fiscal and economic challenges over the next two years. But it need not resort to higher taxes, a state-run lottery, higher debt, or gimmickry to balance its budget. Nor does North Carolina need to skimp on crucial needs such as education and highways. By setting firm priorities within state government, eliminating unnecessary or duplicative programs, and charging users of some services a reasonable price, state leaders can generate sufficient savings to invest in the future needs of the state.