Tonight, a final House vote is expected on that chamber’s version of tax reform. One would expect that since the Left’s beliefs are grounded in raising taxes and growing government, that the allied Leftist groups would oppose efforts to reform the tax code in a way that lowers the tax burden. But can’t we all acknowledge that facts are facts? Nope.
GOP supporters fought back Democratic claims that the tax breaks contained in the bill would primarily benefit the wealthy, requiring lower and more moderate-income taxpayers to pay more in taxes than they currently pay.
“This is a millionaires’ tax cut bill,” said Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham.
“It’s a tax increase on 95 percent of North Carolinians,” said House Minority Leader Larry Hall, D-Durham, alluding to a report put out by the left-leaning N.C. Budget and Tax Center. “That is just a fact,” Hall said.
The General Assembly’s Fiscal Research staff said that the Budget and Tax Center assessment “is not accurate” with respect to the House tax reform bill that was passed Friday. Instead, Fiscal Reserve produced a study showing that virtually all households would get a net tax cut from the bill, though the amount of the tax relief varied according to household size and income.
Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, took a stab at Democratic lawmakers opposing the plan. “They’re not accustomed to cutting taxes,” Dollar said.
Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, the sponsor of the bill, said it would benefit North Carolina families.
“The working families of North Carolina will have more dollars in their pockets,” Lewis said. “Two-thirds of North Carolina tax filers will see an average income tax reduction of 20 percent.”
