Are you undertaxed? It is a safe bet that most local and state officials think that you are, meaning they think they can get more revenue out of you without serious political or economic consequences.

They think this because they continue to view North Carolina as a “low tax” state. But after a raft of recent tax hikes, that is simply not true anymore. Maximum Leader Hood explains:

First, the Washington-based Tax Foundation has just released its latest ranking of state and local government costs. In 2007, North Carolina’s state and local governments are projected to consume 11 percent of personal income, the highest burden since the analysis began in 1970. North Carolina now ranks 19th in the nation in state & local tax burden. We continue to rank 1st in the Southeast in this dubious category, with neighboring states such as Virginia and Georgia imposing significantly lower costs, and we now rank 3rd in the entire South, with only hapless Arkansas and pitiful Louisiana beating us out. As recently as 2000, North Carolina ranked 36th. Since then, the real tax burden has grown by 10 percent. Many of our competitors have held the line or reduced their costs during the same period.

For further perspective, consider that New Jersey — surely we all agree that New Jersey is a high-tax state — is all of .6 percent ahead of North Carolina in the percent of personal income that goes to state and local government. Once more, North Carolina is not a low-tax state anymore.

But wait. “People are still moving here in droves, so we must be doing something right,” often comes the smug refrain from members of the ruling elite. Congratulations! You’ve just noticed that tax burdens are relative. Put another way, folks from Upstate New York would be thrilled to pay property taxes of $3,000 a year rather than $9,000. By all means, go ahead and burn you way through another $6,000 in tax hikes, then, oh, wise government flunkie.

There is, however, a huge problem with the return we are getting on even our current tax rates. Hood continues:

Judging by standard measures, North Carolina’s statewide economic performance in recent years has been weaker than average, not stronger (though our two biggest metros, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, have performed better):

• Private gross domestic product since 2000: North Carolina is up 26 percent, the Southeast up 32 percent, the nation up 27 percent.
• Employment since 2000: North Carolina up 4 percent, the Southeast up 6.3 percent, the nation up 4.5 percent.
• Per-capita income since 2000: North Carolina up 19 percent, the Southeast up 24 percent, the nation up 22 percent.

As for population, North Carolina’s growth since 2000 has been a robust 10 percent, ranking us in the top 10 for sure but not number one. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, and Utah have all had faster growth rates (and lower state & local tax burdens, by the way).

We already know that Charlotte and Mecklenburg County has by far the highest local tax burden of any large city in the state. The inescapable conclusion then, is that Charlotte is the high-tax capital of a borderline high-tax state.

Does that mean that economic growth is going to stop tomorrow, people pack up and move away, and tumbleweeds take over Tryon? No, but it does mean that we have a lower quality of life right now than would be the case with a lower tax burden together with the very real potential for future economic stagnation.

Sooner or later, given the current trend in double-digit spending growth by local government, the cost of living in the Charlotte metro area will outweigh the benefits. That is the truth, those are the consequences.

Update: Jack Betts reports that Democrats in Raleigh are doing a “slow burn” over the Tax Foundation report. I bet they are. Anybody got some fagots and fat-back to speed that puppy up?