Well, that took forever. But it sure happened quickly. Although this observation sounds like something Yogi Berra might have uttered, it accurately describes the General Assembly’s elimination of local privilege license taxes yesterday.  After debating this move for years, once … Read more

Yes. But they didn’t mean to. And the repeal doesn’t affect privilege license taxes levied for the current fiscal year. (We think.) And they will (probably) fix the mistake this session. At the same time they might drastically change (in … Read more

[UPDATE:  S.L. 2014-39 amended the site infrastructure deferral by eliminating the requriement that the property have previously been participating in the present use value deferral program for farmland and by changing the deferral calculation.  The updated post below reflects these changes.] This … Read more

Over 200 officials from 60 N.C. local governments joined us for our occupancy tax webinar originally broadcast on April 2.  We received tons of questions before, during, and after the webinar, which meant we couldn’t get to all of them on air.  … Read more

I often describe GS 105-394 as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card for local tax officials because the provision excuses mistakes in the administration of property taxes. In other words, taxes are not waived just because the tax office messed up.  I wrote about … Read more

It’s almost budget time again for local governments across North Carolina, and tax collectors need to be involved.  Collectors have the responsibility of estimating the property tax collection rate for the current fiscal year (2013-2014), which is the maximum collection rate … Read more

Local elected officials come from all walks of life.  Farmers, teachers, architects, car dealers, insurance agents, realtors . . . you name the occupation and it’s a sure bet someone with that experience is serving on a city council or … Read more

Just over a year ago the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of G.S. 14-306.4, the law that was intended to ban all video and internet sweepstakes parlors.  My colleagues and I blogged about the ruling here, here, and … Read more

Have you paid your “Tag and Tax Together” yet? If you haven’t, you soon will. As of September 1, 2013, everyone who registers a motor vehicle in North Carolina will be required to pay at the time of registration not … Read more

Occupancy taxes on hotels and other rental accommodations are growing increasingly common in North Carolina.  The General Assembly has granted special authorization to levy occupancy taxes to roughly 200 counties and municipalities.  This blog post provides a quick overview of … Read more