A lack of taxation: N.C. House should raise taxes to close budget gap

It's time to raise state taxes for those who can afford the extra burden.

No one likes hearing that taxes are going up.

But times are tough and seem to be getting tougher.

To close the gap N.C. legislators need to either cut spending raise taxes or both.

A tax increase is the most practical option.

The House is considering increasing income taxes for residents making more than $200000 per year.

The House Finance Committee considered raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco products — known as sin taxes. But this raise was killed off

This was the right decision.

Raising sin taxes while a decent idea would still hurt the poorest North Carolina residents — the ones who couldn't afford it.

But raising income taxes for the more affluent will help close the budget gap without massive cuts.

Given that the federal poverty line for an eight-person family is just over $370 chances are that smaller families making more than four times that amount can handle the increase in taxes.

This might mean that some people will have to tighten their budgets but believe it or not taxes provide the funding for necessary state services.

For example without any extra taxes educators will face $1 billion in spending cuts from the state.

Bailing out North Carolina's public education with a tax increase is worth it.

Education is an investment in the future as are many of the state's other services.

We shouldn't make things worse for the next generation just to save some extra cash today.

It's understandable that people don't like the idea of the government taking their hard-earned money.

But when Tax Day comes think about the tens of thousands of teaching jobs and the programs being saved by shelling out a little more per paycheck.