Incentives under the microscope

North Carolina’s continued problems with double-digit unemployment highlight the state’s misguided focus on using targeted tax breaks to lure new jobs to the state. John Locke Foundation Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti discussed this topic in a recent press release, and he had a chance to explain the issue again during an appearance this week with Matt Mittan on WWNC’s “Take A Stand Show.” Cape Fear Business News also reprinted Coletti’s news release. Speaking of targeted tax breaks, government officials in Winston-Salem plan to proceed with a $53 million road-widening project linked to the Dell plant that was recruited to the Triad with targeted tax incentives. This project is scheduled to move forward even though the Dell plant is now scheduled to close. JLF Adjunct Scholar David Hartgen questioned that decision in a Winston-Salem Journal article this week.