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North Carolina’s CPAs Release Tax Reform Analysis Tool Comparing Seven Key Bills

NCCPAJune 7, 2013. North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA) today released a one-page tax reform bill analysis that provides a nonpartisan, comprehensive overview of the seven tax reform bills now before the General Assembly showing how each one compares to current law.  

The “NC Tax Reform Legislation Analysis” is part of the NCACPA’s larger “Tar Heel Tax Reform” initiative, which was launched in May to alert families and businesses about the critical need for our state to modernize its tax code. The analysis tool is available on the website www.TarHeelTaxReform.com to help explain this complex, high-profile issue and to encourage citizens to get involved.  

The bill analysis cuts through the clutter of the tax reform issue by comparing each of the seven active bills side by side with current law and highlighting key policy implications, including personal income tax, sales tax, corporate income tax and estate tax. 

NCACPA is not promoting specific legislation, but helping provide guidance and insight to educate the public on the tax reform debate. The analysis tool will enable taxpayers to better understand the tax reform issue in a simple but thorough overview and determine how each bill will impact the taxpayers themselves, their families and their businesses. 

“Given all the political theatre over tax reform this week, we need to take a step back and remind ourselves why we are having this debate in the first place — because of North Carolina’s revenue problem,” said Rollin Groseclose, NCACPA member and practicing CPA in Asheville, NC. “Our revenue streams are unreliable, making it difficult for our state to budget for the basic services our citizens depend on. Unless we reform our tax code in a meaningful way, our state will be unable to afford those services in the near future.”

North Carolina has the highest personal income and corporate tax rates in the Southeast, and the 17th highest total tax burden nationally. The state’s outdated tax code now relies heavily on personal and corporate income tax receipts, which are particularly unpredictable during economic downturns. The result in recent years has been deep cuts in basic services, “temporary” tax increases, or a combination of the two. 

“We encourage lawmakers to remain focused and push forward with some type of tax reform that will produce a more predictable revenue stream that will strengthen our state’s economic security,” said Jim Ahler, NCACPA CEO.

The current seven bills in the General Assembly to reform the tax code have different approaches, but all echo the call that North Carolina needs reform now. NCACPA will remain nonpartisan on the proposed legislation but will continue to educate North Carolinians about why the state needs to reform the tax code.

For more information on the Tar Heel Tax Reform initiative and to view the tax reform bill analysis, visit www.tarheeltaxreform.com.

About the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants

The North Carolina Association of CPAs is the only statewide association for CPAs in North Carolina. With more than 13,000 members, NCACPA promotes the competence, integrity, civic responsibility, and success of North Carolina CPAs. Founded in 1919, the association is dedicated to being the essential resource for the North Carolina CPA. For more information, please visit our website at www.ncacpa.org.