A lot of counties in North Carolina have seen voters approve a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax over the years, but Guilford County voters have never bought into the idea.
That continued to hold true on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, when, once again, voters said, “Keep our sales tax rate exactly where it is – thank you very much.”
County commissioners and school board members worked hard to get voters to approve the tax hike this year. The Guilford County Board of Commissioners even made a very unusual promise to voters. If the sales tax hike passed, the board said it would reduce the county’s property tax rate – however, even that wasn’t enough enticement to get the majority of Guilford County voters on board.
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston was a vocal advocate of the sales tax increase. He argued that it would shift some of the county’s tax burden on to those who live outside the county since the sales tax is paid by those who come into the county to work or who just pass through on the way to somewhere else.
For months leading up to the election, Guilford County school board members also pushed for voters to approve the tax increase – arguing that it would help pay for the $1.7 billion school bond referendum, which, by the way, did pass with ease.
Republican Guilford County Commissioner James Upchurch said before the vote Tuesday night that, even if the sales tax increase failed once again, the Democratic majority on the board was likely to continue putting it on the ballot in future elections until it does pass.
This year, sales tax hike advocates did come reasonably close to getting their way. About 45 percent of voters marked primary ballots for approval of the increase; however, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
No matter, the will get us with the housing valuation increase anyway.
ANYBODY who votes for tax increases of any kind is misinformed, uninformed……I can think of more adjectives, but fill in your own.
Voters got this one correct.
I agree with the concept that a sales tax increase would spread the tax to those also outside the county taking some of the burden off property owners, but there are two issues that voters are not buying into.
1. Not all voters are property owners, so they think the increase will not impact them. They forget that rents go up as well as items purchased from owners of business that pay the higher rate.
2. How many voters, centrist, independent or conservative really trust government officials when they say “trust me, we will lower your property tax”. Never happen, the sales tax will come in and the property tax will keep going up.
Passing the school bonds and not passing the sale tax increase shows that Guilford County voters are okay with spending other people’s money, but not their own. That’s exactly the kind of thinking that got our country into the mess that we’re in. I voted no on both, and only a fool believes a democrat when they say they won’t raise taxes. Looking at you Skippy.
I do not understand a no-vote. Seem to me you get outsiders that come in and help pay the bonds off rather than property owners. Just makes no sense to me.