← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · North Carolina
Our call — vote YES
The measure
The Reduce Income Tax Rate Cap Amendment is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on North Carolina's November 3, 2026 ballot. North Carolina's constitution currently caps the state income tax rate at 7%. The amendment would cut that cap to 3.5%. For scale: North Carolina's flat personal income tax rate in 2026 is 3.99% — already above the proposed cap, on a legislatively scheduled path downward.
What YES does
A yes vote lowers the constitutional ceiling on the income tax from 7% to 3.5%, so no future legislature could raise the rate above 3.5% without another constitutional amendment.
What NO does
A no vote keeps the 7% cap, leaving room for a future legislature to nearly double the current rate by statute alone.
The math
No fiscal note for this measure was published on its Ballotpedia page. The measure changes the ceiling, not any current rate; its effect is to pre-commit future legislatures.
OUR CALL
Our call: YES.
North Carolina's low flat tax is a competitive advantage built over a decade of discipline. A 7% cap is no cap at all in practice — it would let a future legislature raise taxes massively without asking voters. Cutting the ceiling to 3.5% locks in the state's low-tax direction and guarantees that any serious increase must come back to the people. Easy yes.
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Sources
- Ballotpedia — North Carolina Income Tax Rate Cap Amendment measure page (accessed October 25, 2026)
- Ballotpedia — 2026 ballot measures — https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.