Why I'm on the fence about another income tax rate cap

I like lower taxes. I also like keeping future N.C. leaders out of a fiscal box they may regret

I wrote in the Observer yesterday that the budget framework just announced by the General Assembly is pretty darn strong overall. However, I mentioned that one detail worries me: the proposed constitutional amendment capping the personal income tax rate at 3.5%.

You can read the piece here, free with gift link: The NC budget ‘deal’ is a great start — with one worrying detail

In the column, I briefly touched on the reasons why I’m skeptical of the amendment, but I wanted to go deeper here because this is the sort of issue that’s worth some healthy debate.

To start, none of my concerns are about low taxes themselves.

North Carolina’s tax reforms have paid off in a major way over the past decade. I’d love to see a serious path toward eliminating the personal income tax altogether, though I don’t think the legwork has been done yet to show what that would look like.

My concern is more about putting such a low rate cap in the state constitution.

The personal income tax rate is 3.99% now. Under t…