Speaker Tim Moore to Congress: Follow NC ‘s Lead in Tax Reform

At least the Republican Establishment on Jones Street knows how to cut taxes, and has shown a good bit of political follow through when it comes to taking less money out of the pockets of hard working North Carolinians. As a Republican congress struggles to make good on federal tax reform campaign promises, Speaker of the N.C. House Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) has penned an opinion editorial for The Hill beckoning those in the rotunda to go ahead and get on with it.

The Cleveland County lawmaker does focus on the secondary economic benefits of tax reductions as primary reasons to proceed with reform, rather than the more paramount moral reasons why citizens should be taxed as little as possible, but congress members with an eye on 2018 elections would be smart to heed Moore’s advice to follow North Carolina’s lead.

“The American people deserve comprehensive tax relief.

As President Donald Trump and the United States Congress finalize the details of their tax reform proposals, they need look no further than North Carolina as the bellwether for pro-growth policies to accelerate the nation’s economy rooted in tax relief.

Successful tax reform at the federal level will require the same long-term commitment to meaningful relief and structural improvements that worked in the Old North State.

What the American public needs is an evolution in pro-growth tax policies under constant review and necessary iterations that improve the national economy for the long-term.

North Carolina’s successful tax reform began in 2011, and we continue to make smart iterations to this day. Our first significant step in providing tax relief to all North Carolinians was to reduce the state sales tax, which saved our citizens billions of dollars. Next, in 2013, we raised our standard deduction and lowered tax rates, personal and corporate. We set automatic, responsible triggers to continue reducing the rate based on state revenues. These triggers have helped lower the rates in 2015, 2016, and will do so again 2019.

The approach of steadily increasing the standard deduction, while responsibly and gradually lowering tax rates has helped all North Carolinians, low-income and middle-class taxpayers, save a higher percentage of their earnings. We believed that people should be able to keep more of their hard-earned money.

While there is more than enough rhetoric about “helping the middle-class” to go around, North Carolina has put it to practice by tripling the standard deduction, so middle-class families have more money to spend for their needs and save for their future.

This approach is especially meaningful for the low-income families that could now face zero state tax burden. By 2019, an estimated 1.5 million of these working North Carolinians will not pay any state income taxes because we have made a more substantial tax deduction available to families.

Under our leadership, North Carolina citizens, families, small businesses and large corporations keep more of their money, leading to economic expansion, hiring and better wages.

Not only did our efforts return more money to taxpayers, they also spurred our economy to be one of the fastest growing in the nation.

The numbers show our approach is working. […]”

Read Moore’s full editorial in The Hill here.