Libertarian Party calls for sales tax relief in storm-ravaged counties

Keeping money at home can help boost recovery

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina (LPNC) is calling on state lawmakers to provide relief to the counties that have suffered damage from the one-two punch of Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael.

According to LPNC Chair Susan Hogarth, allowing shoppers and local businesses to keep the 4.75 percent of sales receipts that ordinarily go to the state can help speed recovery efforts.

“Florence is gone, Michael is headed out to sea, and tomorrow mainstream politicians will move on to the next sound bite. But the damage remains and our communities are still hurting,” Hogarth said. “A sales-tax-free zone will stimulate visits and aid recovery in these affected areas. Basic human decency and economic sense both point to this as the right call.”

The LPNC also called for individual counties to suspend their own local sales taxes where applicable.

“People who buy supplies for rebuilding and recovery know their own needs best,” Hogarth said. “The merchants they shop with provide the most direct benefits in terms of resources and employment. Keeping this money in their hands is a more effective and humane way to apply it to emergency needs than to cycle it through the coffers of government, where it will be subject to inefficiency and loss.”