Phil Isley wanted all departments in Raleigh city government to cut
their budgets by 3% instead of hiking the property tax by 4 cents.
Naturally, the News & Observer thinks Councilman Isley’s request was draconian. Government programs are more important than taxpayers. The editorial writer goes back to the well for this astute analysis:
The 4 cents Raleigh added to its tax rate will cost the owner of a
$200,000 home $80 a year; Wake County’s 3-cent increase adds another
$60. That $140 a year shouldn’t add up to sticker shock for middle-class
working people who receive occasional pay raises. After all, Wake has
one of the highest household income averages in North Carolina.
The higher property taxes aren’t much and the higher cost for goods we may need to pay for the 17% minimum wage hike isn’t much
and the five-year old temporary state sales tax increase will only be
an extra 1/4-cent starting at some point in the next 12 months. So,
really who can complain?
All right, N&O editorial board, at what point does all of this become real money for working people?
