On Friday, June 5^th, Governor Cooper added his signature to House Bill 1079 (Various Sales Tax Changes), securing passage of an important NC Chamber-backed tax bill that had already received unanimous support from the General Assembly.

House Bill 1079 makes numerous changes to the state’s laws on sales and use tax, providing additional relief for businesses that remit sales tax and furthering sales tax exemptions on equipment purchases made by large fulfillment facilities. Its passage will give North Carolina businesses greater clarity over recent sales tax changes that have proved confusing and burdensome for many taxpayers. The NC Chamber has supported House Bill 1079 since shortly after its introduction and we applaud the General Assembly and the Governor for passing this important tax priority.

While this bill represents a positive step for North Carolina’s business tax climate, there is still much work to be done. Last October, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation reported that our state’s tax climate, while strong, was moving in the wrong direction, falling from 12^th to 15^th in their 2020 State Business Tax Climate index. To reverse this trend, our government affairs team is committed to fighting for additional reforms that meet the five tax principles our members helped identify as key to North Carolina’s continued success: competitiveness, equity, efficiency, simplicity, and certainty.

As we work to get our state’s business tax climate moving back in the right direction, reducing the burdensome and regressive franchise tax will remain among our top priorities. Additionally, we will continue to advocate for decoupling from the Internal Revenue Code Section 163(j) that addresses the limit on interest expense deductions. For updates on where we stand on other legislation impacting North Carolina’s tax climate, be sure to check out our weekly This Week at the Capital newsletter, hitting inboxes every Friday.