Dan Blue[/caption]Did your taxes go up this year? If so, you’re not alone.
Last month, seniors, small business owners, and families across North Carolina were stunned to find they owed more than ever before on Tax Day.
Hadn’t Governor McCrory promised a tax cut? Wasn’t the economy supposed to be improving? For every day middle class families, these promises rang hollow.
This week, Governor McCrory announced that he had found almost $700 million in tax revenue and that the state budget now has a $400 million surplus. But he failed to mention where he got that money – from the pockets of hardworking families like yours and mine.
The facts are simple: Rather than creating good-paying new jobs and growing our economy from the middle out, Governor McCrory and Republican leadership have simply shifted North Carolina’s tax burden onto the middle class, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
This year, there was a 57 percent drop in tax refunds. Meanwhile, giant corporations are making higher profits than ever – and will receive an additional $550 million in breaks by 2020.
Unfortunately, this windfall for corporate shareholders has not translated into higher wages for North Carolinians. As incomes are rising across the nation and in our neighboring states, North Carolina’s middle class is being left behind. Even the governor’s report admitted that wage growth has slowed.
Thanks to Governor McCrory and Republican leadership in the legislature, people are making less money and paying more in taxes. Meanwhile, giant corporations are making record profits and paying even less in taxes.
But that’s not all.
You’re now paying more for less. Governor McCrory and his Republican allies in the state legislature have slashed funding for public schools, colleges, environmental protection and other vital public services.
Teacher salaries remain embarrassingly low, while many of our best teachers are leaving North Carolina for other states. Classrooms remain packed with too many students and not enough textbooks.
These aren’t the right priorities for our state. It’s time for all North Carolinians to profit from our nation’s recovery – not just billion dollar companies.
The blueprint is easy: Invest in quality education and job training for all of our students; help small businesses grow to keep jobs here; and let’s help every day North Carolinians get ahead in this economy, instead of burdening them with new unfair taxes.
Let’s bring those priorities to Raleigh.
