A tax for government, or schools?

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on October 2, 2007 - 9:48am.
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More than two-thirds of North Carolinians oppose the transfer tax.

But nearly 50 percent would support the tax if its proceeds went entirely to schools, according to a recent survey.

A new state law allows counties to levy a tax, if voters approve in a referendum. More than a dozen counties have put the transfer tax on this fall's ballot.

But the Elon University Poll shows the tax's fate rests on where people think the money is going.

When asked if they would support a transfer tax for local government, 67 percent of respondents said they would oppose or strongly oppose the idea.

But when they were asked if they would support the tax if all of the revenue went to education, only 43 percent were opposed or strongly opposed, and almost 50 percent were in favor of it.

The poll of 664 North Carolina residents was conducted Sept. 24-27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.

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Re: A tax for government, or schools?

Submitted by stoops on October 2, 2007 - 1:44pm.

I didn't realize that low taxes and Republican governments are to blame for low academic performance. I'll let D.C. know.

And I should point out that South Carolina's local and state tax burden (10.7%, 26th in the US) is reasonably close to ours (11.0%, 19th in the US).

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Re: A tax for government, or schools?

Submitted by awbeal on October 2, 2007 - 11:17am.

Yes, South Carolina has lower taxes and a Republican government. SC also has lower scores than NC on a variety of educational measures. They lag behind NC in the so-called Smartest State awards (http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm), as well as in Teacher Quality, Education Input, Education Output, Education Social Impact and Education Efficiency, according to Montana State Univ-Billings (http://www.msubillings.edu/caer/quality_rankings_of_education_in.htm), and academic achievement, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council (http://www.alec.org/fileadmin/2006%20Ed%20Report%20Card_ALEC.pdf).

Are you sure we can afford South Carolina taxes?

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South Carolina?

Submitted by Hudba on October 2, 2007 - 11:04am.

Yes, please look at South Carolina, with their lower taxes and one of the worst school systems in the nation, with the worst results.
You pick the measure—SAT scores, dropout rates, illiteracy, whatever—and the Palmetto State is in the running for dead last.

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Re: A tax for government, or schools?

Submitted by cornax on October 2, 2007 - 10:19am.

How many times are we going to fall for this scam? I thought the lottery was supposed to rescue the schools. When you have a state that has been in the hands of Democrats for over 100 years, there can never be enough tax revenue. Look at South Carolina, they have lower taxes, more industry and a Republican state government. North Carolina ranks right up there with Massachusetts in terms of total taxes levied. What will it take before the citizens of North Carolina wake up and throw these extortionist out of office.

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