FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 7, 2009
Contact: Dallas Woodhouse (919) 839-1011

Americans for Prosperity Outraged with North Carolina Governor Beverley Perdue’s Proposed Tax Increase

RALEIGH - The North Carolina chapter of the grassroots free-market group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-NC) today warned taxpayers about the “temporary emergency” taxes proposed as part of Governor Perdue’s proposed scheme to raise $1.6 billion in new taxes this year.

“Governor Perdue is trying to sell massive sales and income tax increases as a temporary solution, but we know better,” said Americans for Prosperity State Director Dallas Woodhouse. “As Lt. Governor in the Mike Easley years, Perdue witnessed the temporary sales and income taxes extended year after year, until finally some of them became permanent. No person in North Carolina should have any confidence that any of these tax hikes will go away next year.”

The proposed taxes include an emergency income tax surcharge on single taxpayers who earn more than $500,000 and married couples filing jointly making more than $1 million. In addition, Perdue wants a 1-cent sales tax increase, a 50-cent-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes, plus 2-cents-per-can more on beer and a 2 percent increase on alcohol.

Woodhouse further pointed out that lawmakers would likely blame the loss of federal stimulus funds to keep the taxes in place far longer than the one year suggested by Perdue.

“We have seen this bad movie before, with Easley’s ‘temporary taxes’ and Governor Terry Sanford’s ‘temporary food tax’ that was on the books for more than 30 years. Neither Governor Purdue nor the North Carolina Legislature is serious about budget cutting in the face of the current economic crisis.”

Additionally, the governor implied that a vote against her proposal is a vote against children. She said, ‘The decisions we make today are not about our political future, they are about our children’s future.’

Woodhouse responded, “The people of North Carolina will hopefully see through such rhetoric and tell their government that they want to see real cuts and real change in the budget.”

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is the nation’s premier grassroots organization committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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