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Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Sales Tax Advisory Question (November 2019)
| Mecklenburg County Sales Tax Advisory Question |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 5, 2019 |
| Status: |
 Defeated
|
| Topic: |
| Local sales tax |
| Related articles |
| Local sales tax on the ballot November 5, 2019 ballot measures in North Carolina Mecklenburg County, North Carolina ballot measures County tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Mecklenburg County, North Carolina |
An advisory question to levy a 0.25% sales and use tax was on the ballot for Mecklenburg County voters on November 5, 2019. It was defeated.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of advising the county board of commissioners to levy an additional sales tax of 0.25%, increasing the total sales tax rate in the county from 7.25% to 7.5%. |
| A no vote was a vote against advising the county board of commissioners to levy an additional local sales tax, thereby leaving the existing total tax rate of 7.25% in place. |
Officials estimated the tax increase would raise about $50 million per year.[1]
The referendum was not designed to enact legally binding revenue allocations. The board of county commissioners voted to allocate revenue from the measure in the following ways:[1]
- 45% to the Arts and Science Council;
- 34% to parks and greenways;
- 16% million to education; and
- 5% to arts, culture, and parks projects in towns within the county with lower populations.
The state legislature capped the total sales tax rate—state and local—in North Carolina at 7.5%. The statewide sales tax rate was 4.75% as of 2019. Of the 100 North Carolina counties, 56 had a total sales tax rate of 6.75%, 40 counties had a total sales tax rate of 7%, two counties—Mecklenburg County and Wake County—had a total sales tax rate of 7.25%, and two counties—Durham County and Orange County—had a total sales tax rate of 7.5%.[2]
Election results
|
Mecklenburg County Sales Tax Advisory Question |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 51,630 | 42.56% | ||
|
|
69,684 | 57.44% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[3]
| “ |
[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST Local sales and use tax at the rate of one-quarter percent (0.25%) in addition to all other state and local sales and use taxes. |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
The Partnership For A Better Mecklenburg led the campaign in support of the sales tax question.[5]
Arguments
- The Partnership For A Better Mecklenburg said, "This is a transformational opportunity for the citizens of Mecklenburg County. This quarter-cent sales tax will improve our quality of life by expanding our parks and greenways; supporting community arts, science, and cultural programs and investing in our public-school system. Passing the referendum will enable Mecklenburg County to reach across our communities providing our citizens with better services and uplifting our quality of life – and allowing us to remain competitive when new businesses and industry are looking at locating in our county."[5]
- Darrel Williams, the chair of the support committee, said, “When you look at other communities across the country, they’ve come to the conclusion that for everyone to participate in the arts we need public funding. Otherwise only a privileged few will benefit.”[6]
- Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. said, "It’s a small price to pay to make a big difference in the lives of our students, by increasing teacher pay and funding field trips to our arts, science, history and cultural venues. Let’s... make sure we have a quality of life that lifts every family in Mecklenburg County.”[5]
Opposition
Arguments
- County Commissioner Pat Cotham (D) said, “It’s not a community problem, it’s a problem for the arts community. They haven’t done a good job of raising money. Instead they want the default to be the taxpayer, the guy walking to the bus to go to a job.”[6]
- Ray McKinnon, the pastor of South Tryon Community United Methodist Church, pointing out that state law limits total sales tax rates, said, “This is our last bite of the apple. The General Assembly under Democrats capped it at 7 ½%. To me that means the last (quarter-cent) has to be spent on the most pressing priorities of the community. ... Every regressive tax impacts the most vulnerable among us. It is all ‘on top of,’ ‘on top of,’ ‘on top of.’ And if you’re already struggling all these things have impact."[6]
Campaign finance
According to The Charlotte Observer, the support campaign received at least $1 million in campaign funds, and the opposition campaign received $25,000.[6]
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot by a 7-2 vote of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners on July 2, 2019.[1]
See also
External links
Support |
Opposition
|
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Charlotte Observer, "Mecklenburg will let voters decide whether to raise sales tax for the arts and parks," July 3, 2019
- ↑ North Carolina Legislature, "North Carolina Local Option Sales & Use Taxes," April 2019
- ↑ Board of County Commissioners, "Minutes of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina,” accessed September 24, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Partnership For A Better Mecklenburg, "Home," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The Charlotte Observer, "The battle over a sales tax referendum heats up as early voting begins," October 16, 2019
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