Tax Amendments
Locking in tax cuts for millionaires and corporations, and underfunding for NC's communities
Sally Hodges-Copple, Senior Public Policy Analyst
October 13, 2026
About the NC Budget & Tax Center
As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, we work to document and analyze fiscal and economic conditions in partnership with community leaders and North Carolinians with lived experience of poverty to advance systemic solutions through public policy that drive anti-racist outcomes.
Taxes Build Community
NCBudget.org
* After 2034, the personal income tax rate will be lowered based on state revenue hitting specific thresholds. This chart assumes those thresholds are met and the cuts go into effect. Source: 2026 Appropriations Act. Chart: NC Budget & Tax Center.
State lawmakers have slashed income taxes for highly profitable corporations and the wealthy few, leaving our communities underfunded
Personal income tax rate*
Corporate income tax rate
7.75%
We are here.
NCBudget.org
State income tax cuts led to sharp drop in rate for richest North Carolinians, while rate for lower and middle incomes stayed relatively stable
Effective combined state & local tax rate, 1995-2024
Chart: NC Budget & Tax Center. Source: ITEP Who Pays? Reports • Note: ITEP has updated its Who Pays? methodology over time, so estimates for more recent years are not perfectly comparable to previous years. For example, changes in methods likely account for the slight increase in effective tax rates for the lowest quintile. Available information indicates that the rate on low-income people has been relatively stable, as a result of a variety of factors (both economic and policy) pushing in different directions over time. The tax rate on high-income people, by contrast, has inarguably declined.
Recent Tax Choices Have Left Needs Unmet & Shifted Costs
$18
billion less
North Carolinians know they’re getting a bad deal, and started to push back
NCBudget.org
Tax amendments would lock harmful policies into our state constitution
Income tax amendment
locks in tax cuts for corporations and the rich, keeping our communities underfunded
Property tax amendment
gives state lawmakers control over local revenue decisions, putting our local services at risk
Constitutional amendment would make 3.5% the maximum allowable income tax rate for individuals and corporations
NCBudget.org
The amendment would lock in current tax choices that are harming NC communities
NCBudget.org
* After 2034, the personal income tax rate will be lowered based on state revenue hitting specific thresholds. This chart assumes those thresholds are met and the cuts go into effect. Source: 2026 Appropriations Act
The income tax amendment is NOT a tax cut.
Personal income tax rate*
Corporate income tax rate
7.75%
We are here.
MAXIMUM ALLOWED RATE
Guarantees that very profitable corporations and wealthy households don't contribute what they truly owe in taxes
Puts funding for public schools, health, infrastructure at risk
NCBudget.org
Shifts taxes and costs onto the rest of us
The income tax amendment is unnecessary and…
NCBudget.org
Income tax cap would block policies to raise revenue by taxing the wealthy and corporations
Additional funding per student and potential investments in public schools that would be possible with revenue raised from a 5% state corporate income tax rate and a 7% state personal income tax rate on incomes over $1 million, by county.
Source: NC Budget & Tax Center
NCBudget.org
Income tax cap would block policies to raise revenue by taxing the wealthy and corporations
Additional funding per student and potential investments in public schools that would be possible with revenue raised from a 5% state corporate income tax rate and a 7% state personal income tax rate on incomes over $1 million, by county.
Transylvania County
Additional funding per student: $2,700
Additional dollars to public schools: $8 M��New funds could support:�18% raises for teachers�27 new teachers�$2,400,000 for other needs
Source: NC Budget & Tax Center
Constitutional amendment on property tax
NCBudget.org
The specific limit would be up to state lawmakers, but some version of levy limit is most likely, putting a hard cap on the total amount of property taxes a county can collect in a particular year
The property tax amendment DOES NOT address key drivers of property tax increases
Rapid increases in housing values driven by a shortage of housing compared to demand
NCBudget.org
Infrequent assessments when housing values are growing can mean a big jump in taxes after an assessment
Tax breaks for large developments and commercial properties puts more pressure on other payers
Property tax limit puts local services at risk
NCBudget.org
A property tax limit in recent years could have reduced local revenue by at least $950 million statewide. That's about the same amount of money funding:
Source: NC Housing Coalition
Make it harder for North Carolina to deliver a high quality of life
NCBudget.org
$17 B
Schools underfunded
Housing & childcare unaffordable
Infrastructure in poor condition
Health care unavailable
Income tax maximum at 3.5% cuts off
$950 M
Property tax levy limit (estimated at 2%)
Instead we can fund the future
Care for the well-being of all families with affordable childcare and health care
Build affordable housing and address unaffordable property tax bills for those with low and fixed incomes through true property tax relief
Connect people to opportunity to earn, learn, and make ends meet through public K-12, UNC, and community college system
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NC Budget & Tax Center
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Sally Hodges-Copple
sally@ncbudget.org
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