The Tax Foundation sums up the major state tax rate changes passed in 2009. As I had noted before, North Carolina was unique in the southeast in that we raised taxes far more than other states in the southeast – both in the number of taxes raised and the amount of the tax hikes.
A review of the Tax Foundation’s national roundup reveals that North Carolina indeed lead the nation in raising tax rates. Five major taxes were examined: individual income, sales, cigarette, alcohol and the “Amazon” tax.
North Carolina opted to raise all five of these taxes in 2009. By comparison, only one other state (New Jersey) raised three of those tax rates, and no other state raised more than two.
Five states, in fact, managed to lower their personal income taxes this year.
There’s no doubt the recession hit state budgets hard in 2009. But North Carolina taxpayers may want to begin to question why our state lawmakers raised the rate on more taxes than any other state in the nation.
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