RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Senate Republicans are pressing again for a referendum to lower the maximum income tax rates allowed by the state Constitution.
The Senate Finance Committee voted Wednesday to put the question on the November 2018 ballot. The current maximum is 10 percent. The proposal would lower it to 5.5 percent - a hair above the current individual tax rate. The corporate rate is now at 3 percent. The measure could reach the Senate floor soon. A similar amendment cleared the Senate last year but got stuck in the House.
GOP supporters say lowering the constitutional cap would help preserve the legislature’s recent tax overhauls that lowered corporate and individual rates. Democrats say the change would hamstring the state during economic downturns where additional revenues are needed to cover shortfalls.
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