McCrory touts ALEC report on tax cuts

by Craig Jarvis, Under the Dome, News and Observer, November 22, 2013.

A new report by the American Legislative Exchange Council – a free-market advocacy group of corporate and political interests that drafts boilerplate legislation for states to enact – is giving a boost to conservative lawmakers.

It tallied up 18 states that significantly cut taxes this year, including in North Carolina where the Republican-controlled General Assembly overhauled the state tax code this year.

“Without question, the reforms are among the most significant tax relief any state has passed in the last decade,” the ALEC report says of North Carolina, adding up to more than $500 million in tax breaks in the first two years.

Gov. Pat McCrory’s office wasted no time touting an article in Forbes about the report. The Forbes article, written by an ALEC research analyst, contends that tax cuts make for a stronger economy. McCrory’s office distributed it as a news release on Friday.

Democrats disagree, of course, and it remains to be seen how the tax cuts will play out, especially as lawmakers struggle to find ways to pay for already under-funded government services.