About the NC Budget & Tax Center
Policy for and by the people
At the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, we envision a state where every person can reach their full potential and achieve well-being through the support of trustworthy, anti-racist institutions and systems that we all participate in building. The NC Budget & Tax Center is a non-partisan organization that works to document fiscal and economic conditions in communities to support the work of people, organizations, and government to advance solutions to poverty and pursue racial equity. We offer the timely and accessible analysis you have come to expect, along with an expanded emphasis on the trusting partnerships and inclusion of community expertise in our identification of the issues and solutions that we must prioritize to secure a better North Carolina.
What guides us
Big ideas
We believe in the power of big ideas and taking a long-term view to fuel policies and systems that center people and their well-being, particularly those North Carolinians who have been historically excluded from policy processes and continue to be harmed by the rules of current systems.
Policy details
We monitor the details of policy design and choices because they matter for whether public policy advances social, economic, and racial justice.
Telling the truth
We collaborate to tell the unvarnished truth about what is happening and what is needed to help people and to build the capacity of institutions and government to make a positive impact on people’s everyday lives and generations of North Carolinians.
Our policy agenda drives equity in these areas
Budgets that meet North Carolina’s growing needs and expand equity of opportunity
Tax and spending decisions made by state lawmakers have implications for everyday North Carolinians. Choices in recent years to cut taxes and weaken the public institutions in our communities have reduced our state’s resiliency and threatened people’s well-being and economic stability. Public dollars can play a powerful role in addressing persistent challenges in our economy and democracy, but limiting public investments hurts our collective well-being.
Tax policy that helps us build durable, trustworthy public institutions and asks the very rich and corporations to pay what they owe
North Carolina’s revenue system funds investments in the public structures — schools, courts, hospitals, colleges, universities, and infrastructure — that are critical to building and preserving a strong middle class and a 21st-century economy. It is important that North Carolina have adequate resources to make these investments — but how we raise that revenue matters.
A people-centered economy that recognizes a sustainable and healthy economy requires public policy
Many families and communities in North Carolina never healed from the Great Recession before COVID-19 created a new wave of financial harm. Generations of low wages, structural barriers for people of color, and an economy rigged to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few left North Carolina exposed to a crisis like COVID-19. The pandemic worsened North Carolina’s pre-existing economic ailments, and it threatens to leave our state more divided, unequal, and vulnerable.
A collective commitment to a social safety net that makes sure people have what they need and in turn advances our humanity
Policies and programs that support people when they are struggling ensures poverty doesn’t deepen and communities are more resilient in the face of challenges. When designed to respond to what people need, the social safety net can support more equitable outcomes and strengthen well-being.