Perdue does care

Gov. Beverly Perdue does have preferences about what kinds of taxes are raised to balance the state budget.

Perdue's press secretary, Chrissy Pearson, asked today to clarify Perdue's comments from Wednesday when she told a gaggle of reporters that she wanted the legislature to promptly finish the budget because the state was missing millions of dollars in new cuts and tax increases each day it lacked a budget.

The House plan raises the sales tax rate, adds the sales tax to some services and raises the income tax on high income taxpayers. The Senate plan reduces sales, income and corporate tax rates but adds the sales tax to a variety of services, taxes electricity and taxes Social Security income for those making more than $250,000.

"I don't care which plan it is," Perdue said Tuesday of the competing proposals. She went on to mention the sales tax and income tax on higher income earners in the state.

Pearson clarified on Thursday: "It's not so much that she does not care which taxes. She supports the idea of sales, high income, (sales tax on) services and, of course, she originally proposed the sin taxes (on tobacco and alcohol). She understands that there could be a combination of solutions from the two chambers that could get us where we need to be."