Carolina Journal Radio No. 817: More N.C. tax relief kicks in for 2019

North Carolina’s individual and corporate income tax rates dropped again on Jan. 1. The personal income tax rate now stands at 5.25 percent, down more than 30 percent from the top marginal rate of 7.75 percent that it was in effect in 2013. North Carolina’s 2.5 percent corporate tax rate is the lowest rate of any states that assess a tax on corporations’ income. Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, assesses the significance of the latest tax rate cuts. Negative partisanship plays a significant role in our current political debates. That’s a problem for Jonah Goldberg, American Enterprise Institute scholar and National Review senior editor. Goldberg explains how our political discourse suffers when both Democrats and Republicans support their parties only because they hate the opposite party. State lawmakers looking into a controversial fund tied to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have hired three former federal agents as outside investigators. You’ll hear highlights from the legislative meeting that led legislators to hire the agents. Supporters of electric vehicles tout their environmental benefits. Andrew Yates, professor in the UNC-Chapel Hill economics department, says those benefits are not as clear-cut as advocates suggest. During a recent presentation for the John Locke Foundation, Yates detailed research into the environmental impact associated with electric vehicles. After years of fast growth, enrollment in North Carolina’s largest school system – Wake County – grew by just 42 students in the past year. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation vice president for research and director of education studies, assesses the significance of that slowdown for state and local education policy. That includes the prospects for a statewide public education bond package.