If you are fretting that the General Assembly might give Robeson and 92 other counties in the state the option of adopting a transfer tax on the sale of homes and commercial businesses, don't bother.
Such a tax isn't going to happen - at least not here in Robeson County.
The legislation would allow local governments to attach a tax of 1 percent to the sale of those properties, meaning the sale of a $200,000 home would generate $2,000 in revenue for local governments. The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, which favors the tax as a way to help county governments keep up with growing infrastructure needs, estimates the transfer tax could generate about $1.9 million a year in Robeson County that would be shared among the county and municipal governments.
But even if the General Assembly approves the legislation, it provides that a referendum be held before a local government can assess the tax. The odds of already-overtaxed Robesonians voting in favor of a new tax are exactly zero.
The transfer tax is a bad idea because it is narrow, unfairly putting the burden on a single industry to pay for infrastructure needs that are enjoyed by all. Property owners in Robeson County are already hit hard with ad valorem taxes, and when they sell property they must pay plenty of other fees, including a revenue stamp tax of $2 for every $1,000 of property value.
So what is the fix for cash-strapped counties such as Robeson that are being overwhelmed by the growing burden of Medicaid? The fairest tax is a sales tax, which is wonderful because it is progressive - the more you spend, the more you are taxed - and regressive - everybody, rich and poor, pays the same rate.
There is legislation in the General Assembly now that provides for the state to take the Medicaid burden off counties in exchange for the option of a local sales tax that would generate additional revenue for the state. That is what we favor - and what presents the best opportunity for our local government to wiggle out from underneath what is a Medicaid mountain of debt.