July 22, 2009
Raleigh News & Observer Reporters Interview Joseph Henchman on North Carolina Budget Compromise
"North Carolina's new plan: More taxes for all"
By Kevin Kiley and Benjamin Niolet
The use of such surcharges is not widespread, but it has picked up recently with the recession. California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon all have imposed surcharges on high income earners to make up budget shortfalls. All four states have struggled with balancing their budgets.
"These things tend to be implemented when a state is focused more on solving a short-term budget problem, rather than fixing whatever long-term problems there might be," said Joseph Henchman, director of state projects for the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based research group. He said surcharges make tax structures more complicated.
