Legislative Newsletters

April 28, 2008

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Raleigh!

This time of year, a lot of us are thinking about taxes. As your Senator, I wanted to update you on several tax relief measures I’ve supported and helped pass in the General Assembly.

Last year, we capped the gasoline tax to help consumers and businesses cope with rising fuel costs. I was also proud to support the new law that requires 12.5% of North Carolina’s energy come from renewable energy by 2017. This legislation will help us become more energy independent for a sustainable and healthy future. We also eliminated the state tax burden for as many as 700,000 low-income working families in North Carolina with the state Earned Income Tax Credit.

In an effort to take the pressure off county governments’ property tax rates, the state took the Medicaid payment obligation away from county governments and provided a revenue-sharing incentive. This incentive shares a minimum half million dollars from state general tax revenues with each county each year in continuing funding.

Now I’d like to take a moment and tell you about two types of property tax relief for seniors—the homestead exemption and the “circuit breaker.” The homestead exemption provides 50% property tax relief to the low-income, elderly and disabled. Under the new law, we increased the income eligibility limit of a property owner from $20,000 to $25,000. Now a senior will qualify for the homestead exemption making $25,000 or less. I also supported the “circuit breaker” tax relief. Much like a circuit breaker in your home, it protects taxpayers from a property tax “overload”: when a property tax bill exceeds 5% of a taxpayer’s income up to $35,000, the circuit breaker reduces property taxes in excess of this “overload” level. This relief is especially helpful to seniors suffering from rising property taxes due to property tax revaluations when their income is not keeping pace. These changes were the right thing to do because some of our seniors were in jeopardy of losing their family homes due to escalating property taxes.

In addition, I supported cutting more than $90 million in income taxes, which will benefit tens of thousands of small business owners. Over 80% of business taxpayers in this state pay via personal income tax and not corporate taxes.

We must continue to maintain our state’s top business climate in light of the slowing economy and work to keep North Carolina taxes low and keep them competitive. In fact, we have among the lowest property taxes in the country – we rank 40th out of the 50 states in property taxes collected per household and only 12 states have a lower state sales tax rate than NC. Additionally, a new study just released shows that we are 48th in the nation in state and local business tax burden. I have worked hard to keep taxes fair and reasonable for our citizens and our employers and to make government more business-friendly and will continue to do so.

As we prepare to convene for our “short session” in May, I renew my pledge to you to be a wise steward of your tax dollars. I will continue to support investments we need in education, economic development, and the environment while remaining fiscally responsible. Please don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts on these or any other issue you feel is important. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate.

Yours very truly,

Joe Sam Queen

Representing the 47th Senate District of North Carolina

Avery, Haywood, Madison. McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancey

If you know of anyone or group who you think could benefit from my weekly updates tell them to sign-up for my newsletter by sending an email to joeq@ncleg.net, or send me their email address directly.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you any time of the day by emailing me at: joeq@ncleg.net.

My office contact information in Raleigh is:

Phone (919) 733-3460

Email: joeq@ncleg.net

Address: 16 West Jones Street

1117 Legislative Building

Raleigh, NC 27601-2808

Please visit my websites: http://www.joesamqueen.com/ (has archived newsletters) or http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=Senate&nUserID=210

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