(The Center Square) – Voters in November will have a choice on lowering the cap for personal income tax in North Carolina and asking the General Assembly to generate a property tax levy limit.
One other constitutional amendment may reach them as well.
Lower Taxes for All NC, known also as Senate Bill 1080, passed the House of Representatives a day after passage in the Senate. The measure gives voters a choice to cap the income tax rate at 3.5%, dropping it from 7% that voters approved in 2018.
Passage was 73-46. All 71 Republicans and two independents formerly Democrats, Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed of Mecklenburg County, were in favor.
The bill to enact a property tax levy limit also passed the House and will be taken up by the Senate. A threshold, such as inflation or population growth, would be the General Assembly’s access to preventing local governments from raising property taxes.
Const. Amend. Property Tax Levy Limit, known also as House Bill 1089, passed the House 73-46. All 71 Republicans, Cunningham and Majeed were in favor. Later in the Senate, passage was 31-15 with all 30 Republicans and Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, in favor.
“Property taxes are out of control, and some local governments are abusing their power by overtaxing and underdelivering for their constituents,” said Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, speaker of the House. “It’s time for real reform, and this constitutional amendment on levy limits will help stop runaway property tax hikes and protect North Carolina taxpayers.”
The third constitutional amendment passed in the House and next to be considered by the Senate is Const. Amendment: Council of State Vacancies, known also as House Bill 443. If passed, the governor’s appointment would have to come from the political party with which the vacating officer was affiliated at the time of election.
Like the other two amendments, passage was 73-46 with all 71 Republicans, Cunningham and Majeed in favor.
