Local tax burden: How we rank
North Carolina residents are paying more to support their municipal and county governments.
Maybe you didn't need this new report from the John Locke Foundation's Center for Local Innovation to tell you that.
The increase in local tax burden outpaces the rate of inflation.
The report is based on fiscal year 2003-2004 numbers, the most recent available statewide.
Guilford County ranked 10th in local revenues per capita at $1,658. But Guilford ranked 9th the year before, and 7th the year before that. In terms of local tax burden as a percentage of income, Guilford's ranking slips to 23rd at 5.22 percent. Revenue includes property tax and sales tax income.
Dare is North Carolina's highest-taxed county at $3,572 per capita, or an incredible 12.13 percent of per capita income. That's got to be influenced by the number of expensive beach properties owned by nonresidents.
Among large cities -- over 25,000 population -- Greensboro was 11th in 2004 at $1,669 in local revenues per capita, falling back from 7th in 2003. High Point was 13th at $1,618, falling from 12th in 2003.
Correction: The figures in the paragraph above represent combined city-county totals -- Greensboro-Guilford and High Point-Guilford.
Across the state, taxes and fees paid to local governments increased 5.1 percent from 2003 to 2004 -- a time when many residents were struggling to make ends meet.
At the same time, hard economic times raise additional demands for government services.
This report only looks at taxes, comparing cities and counties based on their revenues. It doesn't take into account the quantity and quality of services provided. Where voters demand high levels of service, they also have to accept the taxes to pay for them.
Comments (3)
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Property taxes in Buncombe County, that's in the relm of the Republic of Asheville, and State of Taxus, will see a 45% increase this year. And you folks think you have got it bad.
Reason, more multi-million dollar homes being built driving up values.
Jackson Co. has already reached the point where locals must sell and move. They can no longer afford to live in homes they have owned for decades. New home buyers must go out of county to live. What a mess.
Posted on February 6, 2006 2:47 PM
And if a sponsor is not found for the golf tournament, the city has been "asked" to ante up $1.3 million. Add this to the revaluation of my real estate last year and I may have to pack up and move as well.
Posted on February 6, 2006 4:04 PM
Yea, Mad dog and the ante for the "museum" and for rewarding of "slum lords",what ever this "investigation" is going to take to hang the police chief for disobeying the rules of political correctness, and so many others that it would take a couple of pages to mention them all.
We have elected some folks who know what a dollar is and know how to spend wisely. Of course the State of Taxus penalizes us for such "forward" thinking and for saving money, but that's ok, we manage to fund what we need and then some.
Posted on February 6, 2006 4:50 PM