Dalton: McCrory Tax Plans Would Hurt Middle Class, Elderly, Small Businesses

Press Release

Walter Dalton, the Democratic nominee for Governor, blasted gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory's plans to redistribute North Carolina's taxes to a consumption model as bad for the middle class, seniors, and the elderly. McCrory is promising a major tax reform plan that will eliminate income taxes and be revenue neutral. To do so will require replacing more than half of the state budget with new sales taxes, an idea that McCrory acknowledges that he is considering.

Dalton discussed the issue on WCNC-TV's Flashpoint in an interview broadcast Sunday: "Consumption taxes mean that you're going to tax services: lawn care, haircuts, medical visits. It means that the sales tax would go up. It means that you would go back and start taxing food again."

"If you talk about something that will really hurt the middle class, that will hurt the elderly, that will kill small business, those are the things that would do it," Dalton stated.

Flashpoint clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rNUqkMHvMZE

HEADLINE: How would Pat McCrory pay for his tax plan? He won't say. (News & Observer, 8/16/12)

McCrory said he is an Advocate for "taxing consumption." McCrory: "I'm an advocate for not taxing productivity, and getting revenue instead from taxing consumption." Interviewer: Through sales taxes? "A consumption-based method of getting revenue for government." (Question 11, Creative Loafing, 7/25/12,)

McCrory is considering "the oft-mentioned idea of a new sales tax for services." "Republican legislators, who won a majority in Raleigh for the first time in more than 100 years two years ago, have said they hope to tackle the issue next year. McCrory said he supports that goal and that the oft-mentioned idea of a new sales tax for services, is "one of the options." He has also promised to cut corporate and income tax rates…" (News & Record, 8/25/12)

McCrory said he wanted to "redistribute" tax burden. "We need to reform our whole tax system here and look at how we redistribute our taxes" (WECT, 8/3/12)

McCrory Promises his Plan Would Be Revenue Neutral. "McCrory is promising it would be revenue neutral and suggests the current $20.2 billion state budget is more than enough for the coming year. "But I believe there are a number of options available in growing the revenue and revising our tax system, which would bring in more revenue," he said without elaborating." (News & Observer, 8/16/12)

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