North Carolina’s senate has proposed a plan to make North Carolina’s sales tax base one of the broadest in the country and “subject nearly all consumer activities and products to the combined local and state rate, currently at 6.75 percent.” The Senate plan would curb the ability of nonprofits to get refunds on sales taxes paid for the products and services they purchase.
A coalition called the Alliance for NC Nonprofits has been formed to fight any elimination of its members’ sales tax exemption. Nonprofits would see at least a partial reduction of their exempt status.
Please consider contacting your senators and representatives to remind them this tax overhaul plan will have an adverse effect on non-profit organizations such as the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
ARTS North Carolina recommends we contact our Senator and Representative about tax reform and the impact on non-profit organizations. Call your Legislative office no later than Friday, May 17th, 12 noon, and ask to speak to your Legislator. If you must leave a message, state your name and address and leave this message:
I am concerned that the Senate’s tax reform proposal phases out the sales tax refund allowed to nonprofit organizations. I am equally concerned that some proposals suggest that nonprofit organizations collect and pay 6.5% sales tax on their admissions and performances, registrations to classes and events, and memberships. I ask that (name of Senator or Representative) NOT support any proposal that includes these two provisions.
To look up contact information for your Senator, go to:
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=senate
To look up contact information for your Representative, go to:
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=House
If you are not sure who your Senator or Representative is, go to:
http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx
If you speak to your Senator or Representative in person, use these talking points in addition to the message above:
- I understand and support tax reform. As a citizen of North Carolina, I expect to be impacted by tax reform.
- However, nonprofit organizations should not be penalized in the tax reform process as suggested in the Senate’s proposal introduced last week.
- Any tax proposal should be revenue neutral. The Senate proposal would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from our current budget, which will likely mean additional and debilitating cuts to nonprofit organizations.
- Nonprofit organizations will pay their fair share in tax reform if the sales tax is applied to a broader array of services such as legal and accounting fees. Any additional impact on nonprofit organizations such as eliminating sales tax refunds or mandating nonprofits to charge sales tax on their programs is punitive.
If you receive a response from your Legislator’s office, please send information to Karen Wells at Karen@artsnc.org.
The arts must stand with our colleagues in the nonprofit sector and voice our concerns and opinions on tax reform. The implications of tax reform on arts nonprofit organizations are dire and require immediate action.
While Arts North Carolina represents the arts on this issue, we join millions of North Carolinians involved with churches, private universities, human services, boy and girl scouts, etc whose organizations stand to be negatively affected by proposals currently being discussed.