Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/136115
OPINION Fair Tax Act Is Bold Tax Reform by BOB RUCHO You've all heard the stories. Many of you have lived them. Factory after factory: closed. Pink slips: doled out by the hundreds. Major companies passing on North Carolina and setting up shop just across the border, in Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. High unemployment has defined North Carolina's last decade. And it's no coincidence our state has the highest taxes in the Southeast, or the 44th ranked business tax climate in the nation, to go along with the country's fifth highest unemployment rate. Forget what the liberal editorial writers and left-wing pundits are telling you. High taxes are the reason we've fallen behind. They're killing jobs, slashing wages and crippling productivity. It's common sense — when government sucks more money out of the economy, it hurts the economy. Taking more money from working families' paychecks, from their savings and investments, keeps those families from getting back on their feet. Voters elected us to help those families and to change the direction of this state. We have an obligation to them, and to all North Carolinians, to keep economic hardship and struggle from defining our next decade. We all promised comprehensive tax reform on the campaign trail. But delivering it will require bold leadership and political courage. Reform that merely tinkers with the tax code will merely tinker with our economic recovery. If we want a revitalized private sector and an influx of good-paying jobs, then trimming around the edges of a complex, antiquated, unfair and failing system is out of the question. We need real tax reform. That means significantly reducing income taxes. The Tax Fairness Act (nctaxcut.com) cuts those taxes, currently between 6 and 7.75 percent, to between zero and 4.5 percent over three years. And it puts us on a clear path to eliminating the income tax altogether. It means treating everyone fairly. We can't allow the state to tax blue-collar workers and their goods and services while lawyers, accountants and country clubs get off scot free. By broadening the sales tax base and cutting the rate, we'll treat all professions equally — government won't pick winners and losers. And relying on more revenue from sales taxes instead of income taxes will put the state on more stable fiscal ground. No longer will North Carolina's budget outlook hinge on the ebbs and flows of the volatile national economy. Bold tax reform also means ensuring businesses have more freedom and flexibility to invest, take risks and hire workers. Our job creators, big and small, have shouldered too much of the burden for too long. The Tax Fairness Act reduces the corporate tax rate from 6.9 to 6 percent, cuts franchise taxes by 10 percent and exempts business-tobusiness transactions. The Tax Fairness Act also eliminates the death tax and removes special-interest loopholes and deductions that help a privileged few at the expense of most taxpayers. It lets you keep your child tax credits and federal deductions for your mortgage. And it protects seniors — income taxes will be reduced on their retirement and pension plans, and on those who rely on Social Security for their livelihood. Put all of these components together and here's what you get: a fair, simple tax system that provides the largest tax cut in state history. A family of four making $40,000 gets a tax cut under the Tax Fairness Act, as does the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians. How do we pay for it? By holding the line on government spending. The state will continue to invest in vital services, like public education, infrastructure and public safety. But we'll end the culture of spending every dime government has. We heard pleas to return to those borrow, tax and spend policies last week, in the Senate debate on the state budget. Some legislators don't think you deserve this tax cut. They railed against giving our workforce more take-home pay, and against relief for North Carolina's businesses. Our tax code was crafted in the Great Depression, in the 1930s. That was a different time and a different economy. It was a different North Carolina. To compete for the jobs of the future, the 21st century, goodpaying jobs being created in lowBOB RUCHO, Chair of the Senate income-tax-states across the country, Finance Committee. COMMENTS? we must pass bold tax reform. Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. LETTERS The Heart of Downtown by CARLOS ZUKOWSKI I want to rebut your totally one-sided editorial, "Culture of Corruption." You accuse the Obama administration of countless error and misdeeds, but you have a very short memory. You complain about Solidary (sic) and the waste of taxpayer dollars but forgot about Halliburton that stole billions of tax dollars for services not rendered. Chaney's (sic) response? None whatsoever. Benghazi? Four died in comparison with the Trade Center attack. Bush and Chaney (sic) sent 5,000 American men and women to the death in Iraq on faulty intelligence to fight a war of aggression — of course, there was oil. You misquoted Secretary Clinton, and in your opinion "What does it matter." This is what she actually said: "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night decided to go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?" Clinton asked the Republican Senator. "It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM can to prevent it from ever happening again." Lois Lerner of the IRS should be given a medal for checking on those fraudulent filings for tax relief. There is a big difference between "social work" and political advertising. So, the Chairman of the Democratic Party abused the credit card. Republicans and Democrats are and have been guilty of this abuse. Are you willing to swear that no Republican has ever failed to make tax payments? Our newspaper recently ran pages of the names of individuals who are in arrears and have not paid taxes. In conclusion, Bill, the problem you have with the Obama presidency is that all of you right-wing caucasians cannot accept the fact that his skin is black. History will prove he is and will be one of the best presidents to lead this country. Carlos Zukowski Fayetteville, N.C. 28305 JUNE 12-18, 2013 UCW 5