thetimesnews.com · Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan The News & Observer · September 7, 2026
Poll finds broad support for tax limits | | thetimesnews.com
# Poll finds broad support for tax limits
- By Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan The News & Observer - Sep 7, 2026 - 1 hr ago
A new poll shows a majority of people from both major parties support two proposed constitutional amendments to limit income and property taxes in North Carolina.
Here’s the exact language on ballots that voters will be asked to vote for or against on Nov. 3:
—“Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).”
—“Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
The amount of the property tax levy limit would be determined in a future legislative session if the amendment is approved by voters.
The August poll of 1,000 North Carolinians from Catawba College-YouGov shows that 67% of respondents supported the income tax amendment when given the basic information, and nearly the same — 66% — when additional context was added.
However, the polls show, support for the property tax amendment dropped slightly when respondents were given more context, with 79% supporting the measure after a simple question and 69% supporting it after hearing that local governments might have to cut services.
Michael Bitzer, professor and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, said in a news release.
Both constitutional amendment ballot measures, which passed with a supermajority in the General Assembly, were part of a deal reached between top Republicans over the state budget.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has called the income tax cap “a financial straightjacket that could wreak havoc on our public schools and public safety.”
He called the proposal a “shell game” that would make “regular people pay the consequences of it,” because if there were a recession and revenues were needed, that could result in an increase in the sales tax. The state sales tax rate is 4.75%, with local taxes on top of that.
No Democrats in the legislature voted for the income tax cap, though two former Democrats-turned-independents did.
Stein has also raised concerns about the proposed property tax limit, saying that local governments need to be able to fund services with property tax revenue. When the legislature passed the property tax limit, one Senate Democrat and the two former House Democrats-turned-unaffiliated voted for it.
Even though Democrats in the legislature overwhelmingly opposed the proposed amendments, 71% of Democrats polled by Catawba College supported the property tax limit, or 56% after being given context about pros and cons. And 59% of Democrats polled supported the income tax cap — falling to 50% with context.
Two groups opposed to the tax amendments, Down Home North Carolina and the Carolina Federation, are launching Down Home NC’s “Fund the Future” campaign next week “to build better budgets for working people in North Carolina,” and its “first fight will focus on defeating two harmful tax amendments up for a vote this November.”
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