It feels like it has been a lifetime since tax policy was an actual political issue in North Carolina.
That may be about to change. House Speaker Destin Hall has floated the idea of a constitutional amendment referendum on property tax limits, and lawmakers in both chambers have started giving the issue real attention. What once felt like a niche policy discussion is starting to look like a real political question heading into the fall. I love it.
Property taxes are one of those issues that cut across red states and blue states alike. Almost everybody is wrestling with the same basic problem. Home values are up, tax bills are too, and voters of all stripes get angry about that.
Most states have put some kind of guardrails in place for what local governments can charge. Some are pretty strict, while others are loose.
North Carolina today is on the more lenient side. Our only real statewide rule is a simple cap on the property tax rate at $1.50 per $100 of value1. That’s a pretty high ceil…
