RALEIGH — Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) announced that a group of senators will be looking into property tax reforms.
“There’s no difference to taxpayers whether a tax is paid to the state or to a local government; it’s all money coming out of their pockets,” Berger said in a Feb. 3 press release. “These members will examine ways to provide relief from local taxes while ensuring that local revenue is used responsibly to fund core services our constituents rely on.”
Those selected by Berger are all Republicans representing each region of the state. The Senate members will consider “policy proposals to rein in the runaway property tax practices being implemented across the state.”
The members include Appropriations Chairs Sens. Brent Jackson (R-Sampson) and Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), Finance Chairs Sens. Dave Craven (R-Randolph) and Tom McInnis (R-Moore), along with Sens. Lisa Barnes (R-Nash), Jim Burgin (R-Harnett), Steve Jarvis (R-Davidson), Chris Measmer (R-Cabarrus), Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson) and Benton Sawrey (R-Johnston).
Berger’s press release says Senate Republicans believe the same “transformative changes” and principles taken by Republicans since 2011 to reduce personal income tax at the state level can be applied to property tax reform.
Berger’s announcement follows a select committee formed by House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) last December expressly to “study options to reduce the property tax burden on taxpayers in North Carolina.” The committee will also examine reforms that “provide property tax relief to taxpayers while balancing potential impacts on local government revenues.”
The House’s new select committee will be co-chaired by Reps. Julia Howard (R-Davie), Mitchell Setzer (R-Catawba) and Erin Paré (R-Wake). The House’s 23-member select committee is made up of 15 Republicans and eight Democrats.
