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16 <br />NCACC Taxation and Finance Policy Statement <br />Guiding Principles <br />• The level of government most capable of delivering public services should provide them. <br />• Counties must have sufficient revenue authority and options to meet public service needs. <br />• Counties must have access to a broad and balanced revenue base. <br />• The state should not mandate programs requiring county financial participation, and state- <br />generated revenues should fund basic state services. <br />• The state should provide timely and tailored information to sustain county revenue, budget and <br />financial management integrity. <br />Introduction <br />The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners believes that the level of government most <br />capable of delivering essential public services should be responsible for providing them. In order for <br />counties to be effective partners with the state and federal governments, counties must have the <br />authority to generate optional local revenues that are sufficient to meet public service needs while <br />being responsive to economic change. The county revenue base should be broad and balanced, <br />permitting counties to raise revenues from various sources rather than being overly dependent on any <br />single revenue source or overly burdensome on any one group of taxpayers. <br />A proper balance of service responsibility and revenue-raising authority is imperative for effective <br />county governance. Any restructuring of county responsibilities should be coupled with a restructuring <br />of local revenue sources to meet those responsibilities. <br />County Revenue Authority <br />The property tax system is the mainstay of the county revenue base and the Association will continue <br />efforts to make the property tax system more efficient and equitable. The Association will also seek to <br />broaden and diversify the county revenue base to include appropriate optional sources that are <br />responsive to economic change and equitable in terms of impact on residents. <br />The Association believes that county revenue authority should reflect the following: <br />• Counties should have authority to generate optional revenues sufficient to meet their <br />responsibilities, especially for those programs already mandated by the state and federal <br />governments. <br />• New taxing authority should not be seen as encouragement for new state and federal <br />mandates. <br />• The Association opposes the redistribution of existing revenues, and no redistribution of new <br />tax sources should be implemented without assessing taxpayer equity as reflected by local <br />needs, local funding efforts, and local funding capability. <br />• The General Assembly should reimburse from state sources individual county and city losses if <br />statewide policy objectives necessitate reductions in local tax bases. <br />• The General Assembly should recognize that county funding obligations do not diminish when <br />local revenue base exemptions and exclusions are granted to specific groups and county <br />