UPDATED: A new attack ad stretches to link Republican Pat McCrory to the GOP legislature's $336 million tax cut for some businesses, a loophole added at the last minute in the 2011 budget.
The N.C. Citizens for Progress TV commercial starts Friday, funded by the Democratic Governors Association. It details a tax cut GOP lawmakers described as a small business tax cut that actually will give a roughly $3,500 break to equity partners in even the wealthiest practices, such as lawyers, doctors and lobbyists, despite a budget that included education cuts and led to teacher layoffs.
But the ad stretches the extent of the tax break and doesn't include the nuance necessary to describe it accurately. For instance, the tax break doesn't go to all corporations, as the text of the ad suggests, but only to S corporations where income is divided among partners who report it on their personal income taxes.
And the ad stretches (too far at times) to link the Republican gubernatorial nominee to the fray. The ad correctly notes that partners in McCrory's law firm, Moore & Van Allen, who each made $855,000 in 2011, will receive the tax break. But McCrory won't get the same break through the law firm, as the ad attempts to insinuate, because he is not a partner. He may get the tax break through his other entities, including McCrory & Co., but it's unclear if he does so.
The claim that this is "what you get with Pat McCrory" is also dubious. McCrory did support the GOP budget in 2011, but the line seems to suggest McCrory played a larger role than he did. Asked about the tax break by The N&O, McCrory dodged answering the question.
Democrat Walter Dalton proposes capping the tax break to only small business owners and using the extra money to pay for his economic and education proposals.
Comments
How can you say you will
September 28, 2012 - 5:19pm — WilmingtonDemocratHow can you say you will reform Raleigh if you refuse to list your sources of income from your lobbying law firm?
Unemployment doubled under Myers Park Pat's tenure as Mayor of Charlotte, kinda like his political hero W!
Your article's assumption is incorrect
September 28, 2012 - 1:20pm — Jackson_TybeeI read McCrory's economic interest statement (a pdf was posted by WRAL) and he lists four or five sources of income beyond his law firm. One seems to be a consulting company called McCrory Consulting (or something like that). Unless that company issues stock, it probably IS a form of business structure benefiting from the new tax loophole. Likely a partnership of some sort or a sole proprietorship. But we will never know unless, yes, you guessed it: McCrory releases his tax returns.
Beyond McCrory: passing that tax loophole was the worst idea in a very bad idea-laden NCGA session. Everyone who let that go into the budget deserves to be defeated for cutting state revenues like that at such a critical time. They could easily have limited it to real small businesses but they didn't. It's mostly going, as usual, to people who don't need it.
What is McCrory Hiding?
September 28, 2012 - 9:06am — MalleusMaleficarumWhy won't McCrory reveal his financial details? What does he have to hide from the NC voters? Every candidate for higher office should make a full financial disclosure or face the consequences of public distrust. I don't trust any wealthy candidate who refuses to reveal his or her financial details and tax returns.