Agenda - 02-22-1999 - 1c - Laserfiche WebLink

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r I •~oa3H ~RO`'~• ~ ~ i~ - °0 ~a ~ North Carolina Association of County Commissioners ao ,. ~~ yo ot-'~ Mailing Address • P.O. Box 1488, Raleigh, NC 27602-1488 ~ oouNt'i o Street Address • Albert Coates Local Government Center, 215 N. Dawson Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 Telephone 919-715-2893 • Fax 919-733-1065 • Email NCACFQ~~~~~p~~T Home Page Address http://ncinfo.iog.unc.edu/NCACC ,j~frjj~~jj ~I jj ~Y r~J11JJ FEB 2 2 1999 Bulletin #4-99 Thursday, February 18, 1999 .. , •~ , ~ ~-:, - HOMESTEAD TAX RELIEF PROPOSED -- ;., ,.. ,. , Legislation introduced this week would provide tax relief for disabled and elderly low-income taxpayers and would reimburse local governments for the revenue loss. H 89, introduced by Reps. Bill Owens (Pasquotank) and Cary Allred (Alamance) would increase to $25,000 the amount of property excluded from taxation under the "Homestead Exemption" and would increase the income threshold below which taxpayers qualify for the exclusion to $25,000. - The Bill also proposes to reimburse local governments for half of all revenue lost because of the Homestead Tax relief. The 50-50 state/local sharing of the burden had existed prior to 1991. ~ ~At that time the annual income threshold was $11,000 and the amount of property excluded was $12,000. The total revenue lost was approximately $16 million. During the 1991 session the General Assembly froze the local reimbursement at half that total, $8 million. Since then the amount of the exclusion has been increased twice, to $15,000 in 1994 and to $20,000, effective in 1997. The latter increase, enacted in 1996, was accompanied by an increase in the income threshold to $15,000. Local governments were reimbursed for the increases enacted in 1996, but only for two years. As a result, if no action is taken by the Legislature this session, the total reimbursement to local governments will revert to the $8 million "frozen" in 1991, less that one- third of the total cost of the current exclusion. The total cost of the exclusion proposed in H 89 was estimated lastJyear at $34.5 million, half o_ _f which, $17.25 _million, would b_e reim_ burs_ed to local governments if H 89 is enacted. - - ~ ~ . ~ ... SPEAKER NAMES HOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIRS House Speaker Jim Black announced the names of those that would chair and serve on House committees at the end of last week. Below are the names of representatives who will chair the committees. Alcoholic Beverage Control Aging Agriculture Appropriations - 'Rep. Bob Hensley (Wake) Rep. Verla Insko (Orange) Rep. Dewey Hill (Columbus) Reps. Ruth Easterling (Mecklenburg). Tom Hardaway (Halifax) and David Redwine (Brunswick)