NC Budget & Tax Center Statement on 2023-2025 Senate Budget
The Senate budget released today confirms that NC Senate leaders will stop at nothing to divert the wealth our work creates to the wealthy and big profitable corporations through eventual elimination of the income tax.
By once again scheduling income tax cuts into the future for the benefit of the very wealthy, they hope that the people won’t notice the state’s diminished commitment to providing every child a sound basic education, ensuring the safety of our drinking water, and protecting the health and well-being of every family.
But people across North Carolina see what has happened in their communities — the inconsistent bus routes for students because of lack of drivers, the longer lines to get a driver’s license, the failure to monitor the safety of our drinking water, and the loss of critical health care in rural communities. And they are coming together to demand not just a better budget, but a process that allows their priorities to be considered and debated.
Senate leaders’ proposal to bring the personal income tax rate to 2.49 percent in 2029 reduces public funds by $7.7 billion, roughly equivalent to the entire state appropriation to Health and Human Services. And while they haven’t had to account for this revenue loss in the two-year budget, NC leaders cannot continue to claim to care about health care while putting the health and well-being of North Carolinians at risk through their choices.
A brighter future for North Carolina will depend on legislators who understand and care about what is happening in their districts and are willing to put forward a plan to address the challenges and opportunities in communities first, before giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.
Beyond our preliminary take from our Executive Director above, the team at NC Budget & Tax Center is reading and analyzing this budget proposal with people in communities across North Carolina to understand its implications on areas including but not limited to revenue, democracy, education, and health with an eye to equity.
We look forward to publishing our findings in the coming days on our blog. In addition, we will be closely monitoring how this proposal moves through the budget process with the expectation that the final budget reflects a transparent and inclusive process and advances well-being in this great state.
