Last week voters across North Carolina soundly defeated hikes in the land transfer tax and sales tax. At least one elected official — Orange County Commission Chairman Barry Jacobs — seems downright ticked off about it. Last week, Jacobs told WRAL TV that, “Nobody likes to lose, and nobody likes to lose to a bully.” He was lashing out at the real estate industry. However, House Speaker Joe Hackney isn’t surprised at all by the statewide trouncing of tax hikes. According to this AP story: (emphasis is mine)
House Speaker Joe Hackney said lawmakers meant for it to be difficult for the counties to impose the new taxes, arguing that local leaders need to make the case for the increased levies.
“I expected a high failure rate,” said Hackney, D-Orange. “I think the system is working about how we thought it would.”
The story includes a comment from JLF President John Hood, who provides clarity on the issue of local revenue needs.
Critics of the taxes disagree. John Hood, president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, said county fiscal data shows that better use of existing money is enough to pay for counties infrastructure needs.
“Following reasonable standards, these counties can pay for their fundamental needs without the new revenue streams,” Hood said.
Data supporting Hood’s statement can be found here.
