About Us
As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, the NC Budget & Tax Center works to document and analyze fiscal and economic conditions in partnership with community leaders and create tools & opportunities for people and organizations to work together to achieve public policy change.
Our work seeks anti-racist outcomes, where the race or ethnicity of a person no longer determines outcomes and where the systems we build together actively seek to remove barriers to opportunity and well-being for those who have been blocked, in the past and the present, from participation and from the benefits of our collective commitment.
We are building an organization that reflects the world we want to live in. By approaching our work with the lessons of our history, the talents of our team, and the guidance of our values, we know that we can make a positive impact for North Carolina.
We believe that North Carolina can be a state where, no matter who you are or where you live, you can reach your full potential.
To advance our vision,
- We build trusting partnerships that can power the collective understanding and commitment necessary to achieve economic and racial justice;
- We seek policy processes that reflect the priorities and input of people, with particular focus on people who have been harmed by racial and economic exclusion, resulting in community-informed change;
- We advocate for government institutions, public policy and public investments that achieve equitable outcomes that transforms people’s everyday experiences and improves people’s ability to secure well-being.
Our Values
To realize our vision for North Carolina and strengthen the foundations for ongoing policy and systems change that support people’s well-being, we recognize that our work across the state and internally is helped by clear values to guide us.
We will strive to live these values as an organization because these are the values we expect from our government and the systems around us.
- Community Building: We believe in the power of people and community collectively working for change. We are all connected through a shared fate.
- Equity: We believe in lasting solutions to ensure that all people — Black, white, brown, indigenous, and other historically marginalized identities — have what they need to access economic opportunity and achieve well-being.
- Inclusion: We believe that all people should be able to get the information and resources they need in a way that is timely and useful to meet their goals and needs. We value openness and communication and understand that sharing information and removing barriers are necessary for participating in the policy process and building power for the people.
- Inspiration: We value approaching problems and opportunities by embracing creativity, new ideas, and innovative ways of doing things, so that energy continues to flow through the work.
- Joy: The commitment we bring to the work is something we want to celebrate and relish. We acknowledge that what we do is hard, but we know that finding a way to enjoy this work is an important aspect of supporting one another and our communities.
- Sustainability: We work steadily with passion and determination, to contribute to a durable and long-lasting movement, because the stakes are high for the people of NC. We won't give up.
- Truth: We seek to understand with curiosity and humility. We know the perspective and expertise of people with different lived experiences and a range of backgrounds are necessary to inform the best solutions.
The Latest About the Budget & Tax Center
Our History
The Budget & Tax Center has been working to bring accessible, timely and credible analysis to policy conversations for more than 30 years in North Carolina — first under the aegis of the venerable North Carolina Justice Center and now, as of January 2022, as an independent non-profit, non-partisan organization.
The Budget & Tax Center was part of the first handful of similar groups across the country that were supported by the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.
Over the years, in partnership with many state and local organizations and leaders, the NC Budget & Tax Center was part of the effort to repeal the state grocery tax, establish an Earned Income Tax Credit, raise the state’s minimum wage, and bring greater accountability to the state’s economic development subsidies.
During the Great Recession, the Budget & Tax Center supported Together NC, a coalition of state organizations that sought an approach to the economic downturn that continued to delivery critical services and raise revenue from high income individuals and profitable corporations.
As legislators pursued significant changes to the state tax code beginning in 2013, the NC Budget & Tax Center produced analysis to inform policymakers and the public of immediate and long-term impacts of proposed changes, documenting the importance of the income tax to our state’s ability to fund critical services and ensure that corporations and wealthy pay what they owe.
Looking forward, we bring these lessons and experiences into our work ahead.
We have learned that we can come together and, each day, build the state we want to live in — a state where, no matter who you are or where you live, you have what is needed to live a good life.
The Budget & Tax Center exists to bring timely, credible analysis to the policy conversations in North Carolina and to connect with people and communities across the state about the barriers and opportunities that could unlock greater well-being.
