Here’s hoping the, no doubt, well-intentioned person (or people) who wrote this Daily Tar Heel editorial studies economics this year. The editorial endorses Orange County’s 1/4 cent sales tax hike, which will appear on the November ballot.
It is fascinating that, on one hand, the writer acknowledges the tax hike will be a “burden,” yet on the other hand, writes that the tax hike must be approved if the county expects to recover from the recession. Let’s see. So, placing more of a “burden” on people by taking more of their money from them will actually help them. Got it.
To ease the burden of the increased tax, the county plans to tag it onto non-food items only.
This makes the tax less regressive and fair for all social classes.Orange County has been hit hard by the recession, and to recover, a reasonable increase in the sales tax is justified.
Last month I wrote about Orange County’s push for the sales tax hike in this Carolina Journal story. Since its publication, the county has decided how to spend the new revenue, should the tax hike be approved. From the News & Observer:
The commissioners tentatively agreed to allocate 42.5 percent of the additional tax revenue to schools, 42.5 percent to economic development and 15 percent to emergency services and libraries.
