Thanks to the Republican leadership of the General Assembly, North Carolinians are seeing our day-to-day hard work pay off in a very tangible way: multi-year North Carolina tax reform that results in more money in our paychecks, making life a little bit easier to manage. Dr. Roy Cordato gives context to the chart below.

The 2013 tax reforms replaced a three-rate progressive income tax that ranged from 6 to 7.75 percent, the highest in the region, with a flat-rate tax of 5.8 percent. This rate was subsequently lowered to 5.499 percent and then to 5.25 percent, which took effect in January 2019. The relatively low, flat personal income tax rate has ameliorated the bias against work effort and productivity that plagued the previous progressive rate structure.

Fair and flat taxation. That’s why North Carolina is a model for other states who envy North Carolina’s economic vitality and our legislature’s respect for the people who pay the bills: you and me.