TAX NEWS - 2010

North Carolina Tax: Raising Sales Tax Could Help Fill Budget Holes

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. -- At 8.25 percent, Mecklenburg County's sales tax is the highest in North Carolina. Now, after a year of deep budget cuts, there are talks of making it even higher.

The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners discussed raising the sales tax by a quarter-cent at a Tuesday night meeting.

"We're losing services, we're losing libraries [and] we're losing parks," County Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Roberts said. "This could plug a lot of gaps."

The county said adding a quarter-cent to the sales tax could bring in an extra $28 million a year. The number divided by the roughly 370,000 households in Mecklenburg County comes out to about $75 per family per year.

Some county commissioners are already speaking out against the idea. Bill James, for example, said with the economy still struggling, he's against any tax increase.

Ultimately, voters will decide whether the quarter-cent raise will be implemented in a referendum in November.

If the county puts it on the ballot, the tax hike could find support among the people who were critical of steep funding cuts to schools, libraries and parks.

Taxpayer Jessica Stephens and her friends, who were spending Wednesday at Latta Park, said they would be willing to pay more if the money went to increase services.

"We use all that," Stephens said. "Those are thing that we're able to go to for free, so I'm OK to pay a little bit more in taxes to be able to use those."