The religious exemption created by G.S. 105-278.3 may produce more difficult questions than the rest of the Machinery Act combined.  This post summarizes the religious exemption’s legal requirements and tries to answer some of those thorny eligibility questions. Ownership and … Read more

Foreclosure can be an effective but potentially harsh tax collection tool for local governments. A judicious, equitable, and consistent foreclosure program can get abandoned property into the hands of more responsible owners, spur delinquent property owners to pay old tax … Read more

We had a lively discussion with experts from the School and across the appraisal world during our recent webinar focusing on tax appraisers’ entry onto private property.  (If you missed the webinar, it will shortly be available for on-demand viewing … Read more

[This post was authored by Hudson Vaughan, who recently conducted a study on racial and vertical equity in North Carolina property tax appraisals under the supervision of UNC School of Government faculty member Chris McLaughlin. Vaughan, who is a 2008 … Read more

Different tax systems play by different rules.  Just because an organization is exempt from paying federal or state income taxes does not automatically mean that organization will be exempt from paying local property taxes on its land, buildings, cars, and … Read more

Aimed primarily at new residential developments, the “builders inventory” property tax exclusion (GS 105-277.02) arrived in 2015 and is becoming more popular across the state with each passing year.  While I’ve previously blogged about the basics of this exclusion here … Read more

It’s increasingly common for county tax collectors to collect taxes for municipalities in their counties.  Five years ago I discussed in this blog post how interlocal agreements can authorize these arrangements.  Below, I dive a bit more deeply into the … Read more

[By SOG faculty member Phil Dixon] In response to the opioid crisis, North Carolina passed several protections designed to alleviate some of the legal liability surrounding drug use in the interest of harm reduction and public health. One of those … Read more

January recognizes the importance of knowing about human trafficking. The President has declared January Human Trafficking Prevention Month (see the proclamation here). The North Carolina Governor and the Chief Justice have both declared January Human Trafficking Awareness Month (see the … Read more

As the number of Airbnb and other short-term rentals continues to increase across North Carolina, more local governments grow concerned about the regulation and taxation of these properties. To help, my School of Government faculty colleague Rebecca Badgett and I … Read more