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49 <br /> Tax & Finance Goals & Guiding Principles <br /> b) Restore the film and historic preservation tax credits <br /> c) Maintain grant funding for rural infrastructure projects <br /> • The change to North Carolina's economic development <br /> model that established a public/private partnership to over- <br /> see business recruitment and retention did not define the <br /> specific county role in economic development or coordina- <br /> tion needed for integrating local efforts within the new state <br /> model. <br /> • State tax reform efforts have eliminated targeted tax incen- <br /> tives to specific industries and rural areas, and budget reform <br /> efforts have discontinued targeted revenue streams to sup- <br /> port public infrastructure and have substituted lesser state <br /> appropriations to fund infrastructure grants. <br /> TF-3: Oppose legislation that erodes the existing local rev- <br /> enue base. <br /> • Counties rely heavily on property taxes to fund federal and <br /> state mandated services, with property taxes making up on <br /> average 50% of county revenues. <br /> • There are legislative attempts each session to create or ex- <br /> pand property tax exemptions or exclusions, such as expan- <br /> sion of the elderly homestead exemption by raising the in- <br /> come eligibility threshold. <br /> TF-4: Seek legislation to authorize local option revenue <br /> sources already given to any other jurisdiction. <br /> • Several counties and municipalities have been granted in- <br /> dividual legislative authority to levy special taxes, e.g. pre- <br /> pared meals sales taxes, land transfer fees on real estate <br /> transactions, impact fees on new development, and occu- <br /> pancy sales taxes on room and lodging rentals. <br /> www.ncacc.org I (919) 715-2893 <br /> 27 <br />