Suzy Khachaturyan
Posts by Suzy Khachaturyan
2023-2025 NC Budget Report: Locking in more tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of everyday North Carolinians
[Note: Here are links where you can access the budget bill and the conference report. You can also see how members of the NC Senate and NC House of Representatives voted for this conference budget.] Budget and tax decisions are how we come together as North Carolinians – Black, brown, and white, in every county across the state – to fund the…
NCGA leaders lock in more tax cuts in final budget while abandoning transparency and accountability
The NC General Assembly’s budget decisions this year will have repercussions for years and decades to come, and instead of providing support to North Carolina communities who need more to thrive, legislative leaders have instead continued on a course that will deepen harm.
NC Senate budget plan deepens tax cuts in a rushed, untransparent process
Earlier this week, the North Carolina Senate introduced a plan for the state’s two-year budget that was crafted behind closed doors, shielded from the public and many lawmakers. Today, the chamber passed the budget, with only a few small changes from the version introduced, after quickly moving through a few committees, with little to no opportunity for debate or consideration of the input and solutions that many legislators attempted to bring forward.
House budget plan is a dangerous starting point for the North Carolina budget debate
Today the North Carolina House of Representatives passed its proposed two-year plan for the state budget following the plan’s release last week. This follows the Governor’s budget recommendations released in March and the updated revenue forecast, compiled by the state’s economists, released in February.
Not only is this budget “not perfect,” as one House budget writer puts it, it actively commits harm both through its additions and omissions and fails to seize the opportunity our leaders have to use public resources to advance the public good.
NC Governor’s plan: A budget proposal that offers restrained hope
Governor Cooper’s proposal would increase spending, after years of underinvestment, to $32.9 billion in fiscal year 2023-2024, which begins this coming July and ends in June 2024, and $34.2 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025. However, the second-year spending proposal (2024-2025) will be subject to changes next year during the “short” legislative session.
Notable priorities reflected in the proposal include halting tax cuts on individual income tax filers with higher incomes, stopping the elimination of the corporate income tax by keeping it at its current rate, expanding Medicaid as early as summer 2024, and fully funding the remedial plan in the long-standing Leandro legal case regarding funding for a sound, basic education for every child in North Carolina.
Dollars & Democracy: A primer on how NC can build thriving communities
Updated March 23, 2023 Download a PDF of this publication Originally produced by and now reproduced and updated with the permission of the North Carolina Justice Center (Dollars & Democracy, 2019)
Missing the mark for North Carolina: 2022-23 state budget fails to address the many effects of inflation
Read the Executive SummaryDownload a PDF of this report Inflation isn’t just a pocketbook problem, it’s a budget problem as well. Governments feel the pinch of gas prices climbing higher, food becoming more expensive, and increased competition from private sector employers as well as most of the impacts of inflation that affect consumers and…
Leveraging local American Rescue Plan dollars to support immigrants in North Carolina
Immigrants are essential workers, neighbors, and members of our communities, yet many have been left out of relief to date. Leveraging local American Rescue Plan dollars can help.
Principles in Action: How to get the most out of American Rescue Plan funds in your community
Local governments across North Carolina are making decisions about once-in-a-generation funds that likely will impact their communities for years to come, and there are some guidelines and great examples that can help your community right.
NCGA ignores fiscal realities and fails to roll back tax cuts
Earlier this week, the Governor signed a flawed state budget that continues North Carolina down its path toward the elimination of its corporate income tax and more cuts in personal income taxes. That means more dollars will stay in the pockets of North Carolina’s wealthy elite and corporations. The General Assembly passed the budget in…
