North Carolina’s local governments have been inundated with federal funds since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.  But the complexity and quantity of the rules applicable to the expenditure of those monies have not decreased since the … Continued

Unlike the vast majority of states, North Carolina does not excuse a local government from paying sales or use taxes incident to its purchases solely because it is a governmental entity.  Instead, unless state law exempts a particular type of … Continued

Find the last receipt you received when ordering food or drinks from a North Carolina restaurant.  How much tax did you pay?  What types of taxes did you pay? Even if the receipt did not break out each type of … Continued

My colleague Chris McLaughlin correctly noted in 2019 that “[s]ales taxes are, for the most part, a state government issue.”  The North Carolina Department of Revenue (“NCDOR”)—not North Carolina’s local governments—administers and collects sales and use taxes.  The North Carolina … Continued

Since 2005, the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act (“LGBFCA”) has required finance officers of units of local government and public authorities in North Carolina to provide to their respective entities a “faithful performance bond with sufficient sureties in … Continued

UPDATE (3/3/23):  The North Carolina Supreme Court denied the Town of Boone’s Petition for Discretionary Review, filed on December 20, 2022. In an unpublished decision released on November 15 (Town of Boone v. Watauga County, 2022-NCCOA-778 (Nov. 15, 2022)), the … Continued

Sales tax rates are not uniform across North Carolina’s 100 counties.  In some counties, the combined rate of sales tax is as high as 7.5%, while in others that rate is as low as 6.75%.  Why?  “Local option” sales taxes. … Continued

Marty McFlight is a Washington D.C.-based business consultant who travels to Raleigh once per month.  In August, Marty flew from Washington to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (“RDU”) for a day-long visit to his client’s Raleigh headquarters.  For his subsequent September client … Continued

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has stated in its Interim Final Rule and Final Rule applicable to Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“Fiscal Recovery Funds”) that, with few exceptions, the procurement standards contained in the Uniform Administrative … Continued

On August 13, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) published revisions to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 C.F.R. Part 200) (the “Uniform Guidance”).  Among other things, the revisions to the … Continued