North Carolina's Democratic governor wants job cuts

[The Northerner]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (Reuters) – North Carolina's Democratic governor on Thursday proposed eliminating more than 10,000 government jobs and cutting corporate taxes as part of a $19.9 billion state budget.

The spending plan Governor Beverly Perdue sent to the Republican-controlled General Assembly in Raleigh is nearly $1 billion higher than the current year's spending plan, to make up for $1.4 billion in federal stimulus funds that had been used to close budget shortfalls the past two years.

In a proposal welcomed by Republicans, Perdue also wants to attack the state's nearly 10 percent unemployment rate by reducing North Carolina's corporate tax rate to 4.9 percent from 6.9 percent, making it one of the lowest in the nation.

Other U.S. governors battling weak local economies, including Republican Rick Scott in nearby Florida, are also mixing proposals for tight spending and tax reductions in the fiscal 2012 budget-writing season now underway.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110217/us_nm/us_northcarolina_budget

[liberal N proud]

1. Gotta give those tax cuts to those who can afford to pay them

And while you are at it, take some more people off the tax roll.

Blind governance.

[joquan]

3. stupidity

[Progressive_In_NC]

2. NAFTA has destroyed the job base in NC

Outside of the banks in Charlotte, what's left of the Tech companies in RTP and hospitals and state govt across the state; a lot of the tax base is gone. We have a 9% top tax bracket for income, and our corporate tax rate is upper third. We need some revenue to come from somewhere to make it all right. The local paper said that 7,000 of those 10,000 jobs are unfilled and they may be able to move some others around.

When we used to have all that manufacturing, life sure was easier on the NC budget, but it's not here anymore and new companies aren't coming in fast enough. To top it all off, all the national magazines have named us a great place to live, so people are selling their houses in more expensive markets and moving here without a job.

We can't pull money out of thin air so we have a few choices:

1) Tax workers more. The best and brightest have figured out that there are better places to go with less (or no) income tax (Florida, Texas, Colorado, Mass, Utah)
2) Tax Services more. We are already taxing almost every service in the state and have had bills on the table to get movie tickets, massages, etc. etc.)
3) Tax Corps more. The Bio Tech boom that was supposed to have replaced manufacturing in NC has all gone to SC and other southern states who have promised tax-free environments to those companies to come and create jobs there.

We either have to tax a lot more at a time when folks don't have money, or we have to cut.

There really isn't any other choice.



North Carolina ranks 41st in the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes; individual income taxes; sales taxes; unemployment insurance taxes; and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property. Neighboring states ranked as follows: Tennessee (27th), Georgia (25th), South Carolina (24th) and Virginia (12th).

That is a tough environment in which to create new jobs.

[mmonk]

4. The poor corporations get to have a tax break.

Those nasty public workers causing all this get the pink slip.

[damntexdem]

5. OK, then, cut his job!

[Lance_Boyle]

7. Her. Bev Perdue is (what passes for) a woman.

She is also a worthless POS, as are many of the entrenched Democratic party insiders in NC.

Proud to have voted McCrory in the last election.

[W_HAMILTON]

6. Here's two links to compare state corporate income taxes vs unemployment rates

http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/230.html
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

Notice anything interesting?

Nevada has no corporate income tax, but it has the highest unemployment: 14.5%.
Iowa has the highest corporate income tax, but it has just 6.3% unemployment.

South Dakota has no corporate tax, and it is 3rd in unemployment rate at 4.6%.
New Hampshire has a relatively high corporate income tax rate, and it is 4th in unemployment at 5.5%.

Overall, the unemployment rankings (DC included) of the states with no corporate income tax: 51st, 3rd, 23rd, 31st.
Overall, the unemployment rankings (DC included) of the states with the highest corporate income tax rates (highest marginal rate of at least 9.4%): 20th, 6th, 12th, 24th, 40th.

NC has a corporate income tax rate of 6.9% and is 41st in unemployment. Here is a list of states with HIGHER corporate income taxes than NC but lower unemployment rates than NC:

Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, D.C.

I didn't keep as accurate a track, but I believe only three states with HIGHER corporate income taxes than NC had worse unemployment rates than NC.

Corporate tax rates ain't the problem, but keep on thinking it is...dipshits.