In 2011, North Carolina had all the signs of being the left-behind-state of the Southeast. Its unemployment rate hovered at over 10%, and in rural counties that number scaled to 20%. Employers were forced to begin paying interest on the state’s debt to the federal government, with a bill totaling almost $3 billion, and growing by the day. And the state’s personal income tax rate was frozen at 7.75%, the highest in the region. Then in 2013, Gov. Pat McCrory and the state legislature began cutting taxes. They lowered personal income tax from a top rate of 7.75% to a flat 5.75%, cut the corporate rate from 6.9% to 5%, and eliminated the death tax altogether. All told, the state has slashed $4.7 billion in taxes since 2013. Additionally, lawmakers reformed welfare to encourage work and prevent the state from falling further into debt. As a result, North Carolinians have prospered.
http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/a-proven-catalyst-for-state-economic-success/
