Our friend Mitch Kokai sums up the beating voters laid on local option tax increases last night.
"No North Carolina county has endorsed the land-transfer tax. That tax went 0-for-4 tonight.
Counties went 2-for-20 in seeking local sales tax increases.
Based on unofficial election night returns, 66 percent of the 536,805 votes cast in local tax referendums opposed tax increases."
These results are eerily similar to recent Civitas polling results, which found that 66 percent of voters think taxes in North Carolina are "too high." (question 16)
Such results show that lawmakers across our state are out of touch with North Carolina citizens. Their insistence on trying to reach deeper into our pockets rather than prioritizing their spending displays a complete disrespect for the true owners of tax dollars – the taxpayers.
Perhaps winning the award for "Most Out of Touch County Commissioners" should be awarded to Orange County. First, they spend $10,000 in taxpayer dollars to conduct a public opinion poll regarding voter opinion of a land transfer tax, with the results showing strong opposition. Not dissuaded, they insist on placing the transfer tax on the ballot anyway, spending another $100,000 on an "education" campaign essentially advocating for the tax to be approved. After all that, the tax still gets trounced by a 2 to 1 margin. They should be ashamed of themselves. Kudos to Orange County voters (and voters across the state) for taking a stand.
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