Sunday, December 2, 2012 —
RALEIGH – Legislative leaders and Gov.-elect Pat McCrory have made clear that they want to rework North Carolina’s tax structure.
In the lead-up to the convening of the legislative session in January, the subject will likely receive more attention at policy meetings and forums of various sorts.
That doesn’t mean the Republicans who now control the legislature will ultimately find sweeping changes to the state tax code any more palatable or politically doable than did their Democratic colleagues who took up the same cause years ago.
One reason that past efforts at tax reform faded, and efforts in other states — including one most recently in Georgia — were undone is because there is no great public outcry for change.
And politics often becomes the art of following the path of least resistance.
So, generating the political will to substantially rework a state’s tax structure becomes a tough chore. It remains to be seen whether legislative leaders and a new governor can create that kind of political will to address the issue.
There is, though, a pending crisis facing part of the state’s tax structure that cannot be avoided.
That looming crisis involves the dedicated taxes that go to build and maintain roads in North Carolina.
Right now, roughly 60 percent of state dollars that go toward road-building and maintenance come from the state’s gas tax. Taxes on vehicle purchases and registration fees provide the majority of the remainder of state money.
The number of vehicles on the road is growing. In most years, the amount of miles traveled on those roads is rising.
The amount of money collected from the gas tax isn’t, at least not when measured against inflation and road usage.
A 2009 study from the N.C. Budget and Tax Center noted that the number of taxable gallons of gasoline sold in the state between 2003-04 and 2006-07 rose by 2 percent, while the population increased by 6 percent during the same period.
That same study found that the average driver, in 1963, paid three times more in gas taxes on a per-mile basis than in 2009.
Without changes, the trend is going to accelerate dramatically as more electric vehicles and higher-mileage cars hit the roadways in coming years.
The solution isn’t obvious.
The long-term answer likely involves something other than the current gas tax. That tax, which in North Carolina automatically adjusts every six months based on the wholesale price of gasoline, has already become a political football because it is higher than surrounding states.
Some people who have studied the issue want government to begin assessing taxes, not at the gas pump, but by measuring the miles driven by each car. That answer raises privacy concerns regarding car tracking technology and questions of how mileage and taxes are apportioned based on out-of-state driving.
Tolls, along with increasing or changing car sales taxes, are other options.
Whatever the answer, a changing world means that the problem can’t be avoided much longer.
Opinion & Letters to the Editor
Related Photos
-
Scott Mooneyham
Discussion
Looming crisis demands tax reform
- Opinion & Letters to the Editor
-
-
We are Uniquely Made
Earlier this week the seniors at our school had one final hurdle to jump before graduation. They had to present their senior projects before panels of community members. Each room had four adults: the moderator and the three judges. You can be sure the students were quite nervous, but they usually do a great job. If they have practiced and prepared then they should experience success.
-
Ronald McDonald House of benefit to us all
On Tuesday, Stanly County Managers Association members heard a presentation concerning the Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte.
-
Celebrating small businesses and continuing new ways of communicating
Some stories are worth mentioning again.
-
Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
-
Google shuts down SMS search, angers people who had forgotten it existed
Instead of texting back search results, Google responds with a short message noting that the service "has been shutdown" (sic) and that you can continue to search the Web by visiting google.com (duh).
-
Walking by Faith
Last week I wrote about waiting on the Lord. I really needed to hear from the Lord, but all I was receiving was “wait.” I really don’t like to wait, but it is important to give God the opportunity to work things out before we proceed. After we wait on God, the next thing we are going to be asked to do is to walk by faith. That means that God is only going to reveal one step at a time, which is almost as much fun as “wait.”
-
Jettie Parker
Jettie Frick Parker, 89, of Albemarle died at 2 a.m. Friday, May 3, 2013, in Trinity Place, Albemarle.
-
Always Learning
I am teaching a class this semester that I haven’t taught in over a dozen years. Although I have taught it before, it still has a feeling of being new. The curriculum has been updated, and I must spend a good bit of time reviewing and preparing for the lesson each day. It doesn’t surprise me that often that I will come across something I didn’t know. The other day I made a big fuss about learning something new. The kids had a good time with that; their teacher learned something new.
-
West of Memphis: My Favorite Documentary Gets a New Partner
I saw “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders of Robin Hood Hills” when it played in theaters in 1996. At some point during the viewing, it became my favorite documentary. A position it has held for nearly 20 years. I own a copy of it, along with the two sequels “(Paradise Lost 2: Revelations” and “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory).” Many know part of the story told in the films; it is a story that everyone should witness.
-
Childhood bullying linked to adult psychological disorders
A significant study from Duke provides the best evidence we’ve had thus far that bullying in childhood is linked to a higher risk of psychological disorders in adulthood. The results came as a surprise to the research team.
- More Opinion & Letters to the Editor Headlines
-
