September 18, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Francis De Luca (919) 834-2099
Francis.DeLuca@NCCivitas.org
RALEIGH – The Civitas Institute is hailing key victories in the final budget signed today by Governor McCrory.
“Four crucial sections in the budget were real wins for conservative ideas, and we are glad to have helped make those wins possible,” Civitas President Francis De Luca said. Civitas has addressed all four issues repeatedly over the years, right up the final days of the session when its “Cut This, Go Home” series pointed out to legislators easy ways to cut spending and end the budget impasse.
Renewable Energy Tax Credits Ride into the Sunset
More than $200 million in special tax breaks that favored one industry at the expense of NC taxpayers and power customers will expire on Dec. 31. In addition to recent articles and opeds, this year Civitas exposed the links between “Big Solar” and liberal funders and lobbyists in a three part series.
Income Taxes Keep Going Down
In 2012, Civitas led the fight alongside key legislators to reform North Carolina’s tax code by making it fairer and less of a burden on taxpayers and the economy. That process will continue in the 2016-2017 budget: State income taxes are scheduled to drop from 5.75 percent to 5.499 percent in 2017. And the corporate tax rate will be guaranteed to drop to 4 percent next year and 3 percent the following year, regardless of revenue thresholds.
Parents and Students Will Get More Choice in Education
Since 2005, Civitas has fought to expand school choice. In the new budget, funding for Opportunity Scholarships will be increased by 129 percent in just two years, rising from $11 million to $25 million.
Jim Hunt Institute Will No Longer Get Taxpayer Money
A long-standing “Civitas Waste of the Week,” the Jim Hunt Institute used taxpayer money to promote liberal causes such as Common Core and to host radical leftists such as Noam Chomsky and Angela Davis. The 2016-2017 state budget eliminates $730,230 per year in state funding to the Hunt Institute.
“While we didn’t get everything we wanted out of this year’s budget negotiations, these victories signal that we conservatives made our voices heard,” De Luca added. “That’s encouraging news as we look ahead to the next legislative session.”
Francis De Luca is available for interviews. To arrange one, contact Demi Dowdy at 919-834-2099 or demi.dowdy@nccivitas.org.
Founded in 2005, the Civitas Institute is a Raleigh, NC-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit policy organization committed to creating a North Carolina whose citizens enjoy liberty and prosperity derived from limited government, personal responsibility and civic engagement. To that end, Civitas develops and advocates for conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians. Civitas provides research, information and training to:
- empower citizens to become better civic leaders and more informed voters;
- educate emerging public leaders, enabling them to be more effective in the democratic process; and
- inform elected officials about citizen-based, free-market solutions to problems facing North Carolinians.
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