The federal government issued tax credits in North Carolina approaching a half-billion dollars for renewable energy investment in the five most recent years for which records are available, and high-income earners have benefited the most from the tax favors
Published: Thursday, October 6th, 2016 @ 2:22 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Like a recovering addict on the verge of a major binge, some North Carolina lawmakers are on the brink of falling back into the black hole of tax credits
Published: Saturday, June 18th, 2016 @ 3:44 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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State officials, lawmakers, and renewable energy consultants attempted Tuesday to downplay the $937.8 million cost of tax credits sought under the state's new Safe Harbor Act - a total more than five times higher than initial projections.
Published: Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 @ 2:34 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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For decades, energy costs have been manipulated by state government subsidies. Just like other subsidies, whether for the film industry, automobile manufacturers, or even specific companies, special treatments transfer the tax burden from the recipients of the subsidies to others, creating unfair...
Published: Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 @ 4:03 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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The final batch of solar and other renewable energy projects requested under the "safe harbor" law enacted in April by the General Assembly could cost North Carolina taxpayers as much as $937,804,785 in credits, according to aggregated figures released Wednesday by the North Carolina Department...
Published: Thursday, January 7th, 2016 @ 7:42 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor Pat McCrory and Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz celebrated the preservation of Historic Tax Credits (HTC) in North Carolina at an event in Burlington today. Restoring the HTC was a major element in Governor McCrory's legislative agenda that he detailed...
Published: Tuesday, October 27th, 2015 @ 11:51 pm
By: McCrory Communications
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This series, entitled "Cut This, Go Home," includes several budget items that should no longer receive taxpayer funding because they fall well outside the legitimate, core functions of government.
Published: Wednesday, September 30th, 2015 @ 11:01 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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An interesting item suddenly appeared this week in the N.C. Senate farm bill. This item made its appearance a few short days after the new state budget was finally approved. Among other things, the new budget ended North Carolina's longtime, exceedingly generous 35 percent investment tax credit...
Published: Monday, September 28th, 2015 @ 12:06 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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An environmental group lauding North Carolina for ranking No. 4 nationally in solar energy capacity agrees with foes of renewable energy mandates — the state's purported boom in clean energy mostly results from the government forcing utilities to purchase the higher-cost energy, along with...
Published: Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 @ 3:25 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Former Florida Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Wednesday outlined his economic plan, a proposal he said would lift the economy out of the post-recession "new normal" and "lift up everybody."
Published: Thursday, September 10th, 2015 @ 9:24 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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North Carolina taxpayers are about to get stuck with a big bill - if the General Assembly continues the state's "Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard" (REPS) and renewable energy tax credit policies.
Published: Thursday, September 3rd, 2015 @ 7:09 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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While Duke Energy is passing higher costs to ratepayers because state law forces it to purchase renewable energy, the utility also claimed a whopping $62.8 million in tax write-offs in 2014 for its own investments in green power projects.
Published: Thursday, June 11th, 2015 @ 3:36 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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The General Fund budget proposal released Monday by GOP state House leaders for the two-year budget cycle starting July 1 would increase spending by nearly $1 billion more than the increase recommended in March by Gov. Pat McCrory, a fellow Republican.
Published: Friday, May 22nd, 2015 @ 4:35 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Raleigh, N.C. - Governor Pat McCrory took action on Senate Bill 372 today, which extends the tax credit for renewable energy projects in the state.
Published: Thursday, April 30th, 2015 @ 9:07 pm
By: Christopher Maye
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The House on Tuesday approved a Senate bill that would extend the state's 35 percent renewable energy tax credit - set to expire at the end of 2015 - by one year to allow several major solar farms to hook up to the power grid. Over five years, the solar companies could collect as much as...
Published: Tuesday, April 28th, 2015 @ 5:49 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The Senate Finance Committee on April 2 approved a bill with bipartisan support to extend by one year eligibility for the state's 35 percent renewable energy tax credit. The legislation is intended to provide "a soft landing " to large solar projects already in the regulatory approval and...
Published: Monday, April 13th, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor Pat McCrory and Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz recently continued their tour throughout North Carolina to highlight the successful efforts to revitalize urban downtowns, main streets and rural communities through the historic tax credit program. As the tour continues across...
Published: Wednesday, March 18th, 2015 @ 9:15 pm
By: Chris Downey
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Gov. Pat McCrory called on lawmakers to honor a promise to increase starting teacher salaries to $35,000 and included salary boosts for state troopers and corrections officers Thursday as he unveiled his $21.5 billion General Fund budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Published: Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 @ 9:18 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The editors of The Fayetteville Observer are interested in the film industry and with storytelling in general. An example of the latter came to my attention recently.
Published: Sunday, February 15th, 2015 @ 2:04 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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This is National School Choice Week and there are many reasons to celebrate this modest but important idea. School choice is based on a simple truth: Parents know their children better than anyone else. As such, parents - not the government - should control their children's education and where...
Published: Friday, February 13th, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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The question of whether our state government ought to subsidize historic preservation is distinguishable from the question of how government should deliver those subsidies. Unfortunately, these two issues have been lumped together by lawmakers when discussing the recent sunset of the historic...
Published: Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015 @ 12:43 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Spurred on by Gov. Pat McCrory, who has assembled a coalition to restore discontinued historic preservation tax credits, state Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Klutz on Thursday directed her statewide whistle-stop tour to Eden, home of Senate leader Phil Berger.
Published: Friday, January 23rd, 2015 @ 8:59 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor McCrory and others are advocating the restoration of the historic preservation tax credit.
Published: Saturday, December 27th, 2014 @ 8:45 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Governor Pat McCrory was in High Point today for the grand opening of the North American Headquarters of BuzziSpace, a manufacturer of high-end office furniture. The move, and the 113 jobs and nearly $2 million investment, was announced just 10 months ago. The headquarters will be located and,
Published: Saturday, December 13th, 2014 @ 11:49 am
By: Chris Downey
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Efforts by the state's film industry to continue getting incentives from North Carolina taxpayers were revived Thursday when a Senate committee - and later the entire Senate - approved a new plan awarding grants to filmmakers.
Published: Monday, June 9th, 2014 @ 7:17 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Lobbyists for North Carolina's motion-picture industry, in an attempt to preserve an expiring taxpayer subsidy for film production in the state, are circulating two "talking points" documents to lawmakers attacking the credibility of those who have questioned the figures.
Published: Saturday, June 7th, 2014 @ 9:19 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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How serious are our state leaders about economic growth and long-term recovery? Are they committed to broadening the base of taxpayers so that everyone pays something and nearly everyone pays less? Will they stand strong to continue the reforms that are turning the state around?
Published: Saturday, May 31st, 2014 @ 10:14 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Do you think your taxes are too high? Would like a tax break? Well, some NC legislators are happy to give you a big tax break – if you are a big Hollywood film studio.
Published: Wednesday, May 28th, 2014 @ 2:08 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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To make a long story short, the great debate in North Carolina politics concerns how state and local governments can best promote economic growth and opportunity. Opinions differ widely, as one might expect. But generally speaking, they can be grouped into three schools of thought that bear...
Published: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 @ 8:31 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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At an early March meeting in Charlotte of the N.C. Governor's Conference on Tourism, state Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker admitted that a 25-percent refundable tax credit for the film industry, scheduled to expire in January, may be in trouble.
Published: Monday, March 31st, 2014 @ 8:30 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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In February, a North Carolina tax preparer of Hispanic descent told Carolina Journal that several tax preparers in her community help their clients commit federal income tax fraud by claiming tax credits for children who either do not exist or do not live in the United States.
Published: Saturday, March 8th, 2014 @ 8:47 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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I've had my disagreements with Duke Energy, both historically and recently. But the company got a bum rap in a new story stumbling its way through media circles: that Duke Energy uses abusive tax loopholes to avoid paying its fair share of federal income taxes.
Published: Friday, March 7th, 2014 @ 1:11 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Momma always said you can learn more listening than you can speaking, so now that a judge has called a temporary halt to North Carolina's school voucher program let's spend time in listening to both sides of this issue. And the best way to get information is to ask questions.
Published: Saturday, March 1st, 2014 @ 5:01 am
By: Tom Campbell
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