Statement on property tax amendment from Alexandra Sirota, Executive Director of the NC Budget & Tax Center
Limiting the ability of local governments to use property taxes as a tool to raise revenue is especially concerning at a time when North Carolina families are facing rising costs. The vaguely worded amendment that passed out of the House Committee on Property Tax Reform today will not make housing more affordable or help people access the care and supports they need to age in place. Instead, it risks shifting even more costs onto families across North Carolina while reducing local governments’ ability to respond to growing needs.
North Carolina lawmakers should prioritize real solutions to rising house costs rather than empty promises. Legislators can provide deeper, more immediate relief by strengthening targeted property tax relief programs and ensuring the state covers the costs of those reforms through the General Fund. This approach would prevent households — especially seniors and families with low incomes — from being overloaded by property tax payments.
And by pausing scheduled income tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and profitable corporations, legislators can demonstrate their commitment to the affordability concerns facing North Carolinians whose wages aren’t keeping up and who have seen no personal benefit from the income tax cuts over more than a decade.
Pursuing a cap or limit to the property tax in the current context is particularly concerning and likely to further shift costs to families. When the state and Congress fail to adequately fund priorities communities have for their children’s classrooms, for their workforce’s child care needs, and for their parents’ health care, those needs and costs don’t disappear — they shift. Restricting local revenue tools could force communities to cut critical services or rely more heavily on fees, further straining family budgets.
Rather than tying the hand of local governments with levy limits, state legislators should take responsibility for the fiscal landscape facing our communities and families and stop scheduled income tax cuts for wealthy households and profitable corporations. Doing so would allow the state to fund targeted property tax relief that helps seniors and families with low incomes remain in their homes, while supporting the services and infrastructure that keep NC communities strong.
Resources:
- Property taxes power local services across North Carolina
- 2026 Economic County Snapshots for North Carolina, including data on housing affordability
- Fact Sheet: North Carolina needs smart property tax relief, not reckless revenue limits
- NC can choose good property tax policies that support affordable housing
