Mar 01 2009
Washington Isn’t the Only Place Your Taxes End Up
The average North Carolinian surrendered more than 5 percent of his personal income to fund city and county government in the 2007 budget year, according to a new report from the Center for Local Innovation. The local tax and fee burden now tops more than $2,000 a year in seven of North Carolina’s largest cities.
“The typical resident of the median county in North Carolina paid $1,275 in taxes and fees to county and municipal governments,” said report author Michael Lowrey, a John Locke Foundation policy analyst. “That amounted to a 1.27 percent increase over the 2006 budget year and represents a nearly 5 percent increase from 2005.”
Among the state’s largest cities, Charlotte ($2,636 per person), Asheville, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Wilmington had the highest tax burdens. They topped the list of 31 municipalities with at least 25,000 residents. Jacksonville ($1,129 per person), Thomasville, Goldsboro, Kannapolis, and Fayetteville ranked lowest in tax-and-fee burden among the larger cities.
Take a look at the report and see what your local politicians are doing to your wallet. Then decide if it’s worth what they’re giving back.
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