Poll: NC prefers paying sales tax over income tax
North Carolinians prefer paying sales tax to income tax, a recent High Point University/News & Record poll suggests.
The poll results are an endorsement of recent moves in the state General Assembly to shift some of the state's tax burden by cutting the income tax and extending the sales tax to some services like car repair.
Most poll respondents said the amount of income tax they will pay this year is unfair while a majority said the amount of sales tax they pay is fair. Just less than half said the state should get more of its revenue from sales tax than from income tax and 55 percent approve of getting more state revenue from sales tax and less from income tax.
Switching where the state gets most of its revenue would require a big change in tax policy, probably including a major increase in the sales tax rate or expanding the tax to cover more services or both.
For the 2013-14 fiscal year, $11 billion in state revenue came from the income tax, or 53 percent of the total. Sales tax made up a little less than half that amount at $5.4 billion, or 26 percent.
The legislature's Republican majority, especially GOP senators, have pushed for reducing income taxes and raising sales tax receipts.
Proponents of the shift say it boosts the economy by making more money available for investment and providing an incentive for people to earn more. Critics say the sales tax is problematic because it falls most heavily on middle-class and low-income taxpayers who must spend more of their income. Many of the services the wealthy are more likely to pay for are not taxed.
The poll was conducted Sept. 26 through Oct. 1 and has a margin of error of 4.6 percent. Following is the text of the poll questions on tax issues and a summary of the results:
Question: Do you regard the amount of income tax you will pay this year as fair or unfair?
Fair – 39 percent
Unfair – 52 percent
Don’t know/refused – 8 percent
Question: Do you regard the amount of sales tax you will pay this year as fair or unfair?
Fair – 56 percent
Unfair – 40 percent
Don’t know/refused – 4 percent
Question: Do you think that the state of North Carolina should receive more of its revenue from sales taxes or income taxes?
Sales taxes – 48 percent
Income taxes – 27 percent
Neither – 8 percent
Equal amounts of both – 8 percent
Don’t know – 9 percent
Question: The North Carolina General Assembly has recently passed legislation that would increase the proportion of revenue the state receives from sales taxes and decrease the proportion of revenue the state receives from income taxes. Do you approve or disapprove of this change in tax policy?
Approve – 55 percent
Disapprove – 34 percent
Don’t know/refused – 11 percent