Study says North Carolina among most reliant on income taxes; wealth gap cuts state revenue

[unhappycamper]

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/state/study-says-north-carolina-among-most-reliant-on-income-taxes/article_b50c2200-75d5-551e-9612-297aeb4938d9.html

Study says North Carolina among most reliant on income taxes; wealth gap cuts state revenue
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 5:05 pm | Updated: 5:37 pm, Mon Sep 15, 2014.

Associated Press |

RALEIGH - The income gap that's been growing for years increasingly is undermining public treasuries in North Carolina and other states, a new report by the investment rating agency Standard & Poor's says.

North Carolina is among the 10 states most reliant on income tax revenues, the S&P report released Monday said. The increasing flow of wealth to top earners is likely to force policymakers into a choice between raising tax rates on the rich or cutting spending, the report said.

The report builds on an analysis the firm released last month about how inequality is hampering the U.S. rebound from the Great Recession. That report advised against politicians taxing the rich to narrow the gap and instead increasing education access to help individuals compete for higher wages.

But the growing gap between rich and poor also has implications for how states will be able to afford education, medical care and road maintenance in the future, the study said.