With high prices in stores and at gas pump, will NC lawmakers offer tax relief?
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- Berger opposes capping the sales tax and opposes a gas tax break.
- Hall said House Republicans would be open to considering sales or gas tax options.
- Legislators passed income and property tax amendment proposals that need voter approval.
Republicans who control the North Carolina General Assembly just passed a bill that would cap the income tax rate, if voters approve a ballot measure.
They also passed another proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved, would lead them to cap local property tax increases.
But what about sales tax?
The state’s revenue comes from both income taxes and sales taxes. The current sales tax rate is 4.75%, with local taxes on top of that.
In Wake County, the largest county in the state and home to the capital, Raleigh, the total rate is 7.25% with state and local sales tax combined.
Consumers are facing a long summer of high prices in stores and at the pump. And Memorial Day weekend is here, a time to consider how much to spend.
Some states, led by Republicans who promote tax relief, have paused gas taxes.
In North Carolina, the future of either that option or capping sales tax is murky.
That’s because the two most powerful Republicans have different takes on that aspect of tax policy.
And it already took them close to a year to agree on personal income tax and property tax amendments.
Berger opposes sales tax cap, gas tax pause
The News & Observer asked Senate leader Phil Berger, after the Senate approved the income tax cap legislation Tuesday, if they would push for capping sales taxes, too.
In short, the answer is no. For Berger, he doesn’t want to cap the sales tax at all. Nor does he want to offer any gas tax breaks as gas prices skyrocket and most gas stations in Raleigh, where the General Assembly works, charge more than $4 per gallon of regular unleaded.
“I haven’t seen anybody propose capping the sales tax, and remember the sales tax is something that’s part state, part local — and I also feel that the income tax has more of a direct impact on overall economic activity and growth than the sales tax does,” Berger said Tuesday.
“But if somebody wants to propose a sales tax amendment, obviously we’ll take a look at it. I would not be in favor of that.”
Why not?
“I just don’t think it’s the appropriate lever for us to work on,” he told The N&O as he spoke to reporters on the Senate floor.
He also opposes a gas tax break.
North Carolina’s southern neighbor, Georgia, has temporarily suspended the gas tax. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is a Republican.
“Along with our partners in the legislature, we’ve remained committed to giving hardworking Georgians relief wherever able, and this action is another fulfillment of that promise,” Kemp said, according to USA Today.
Federal Republicans are also considering suspending the gas tax, given prices that have spiked since the Trump administration’s U.S.-Iran war began.
Berger isn’t pushing that for North Carolina.
“Strikes me that that’s more of a feel-good kind of thing than something that actually would make a whole lot of difference with reference to individuals,” Berger said.
Hall open to looking at sales tax cap, gas tax pause
The N&O asked Republican House Speaker Destin Hall shortly after the chamber passed both tax bills on Wednesday if there was interest in capping sales tax or pausing gas tax.
“I’m certainly fine looking at all those things,” he said.
“I think, in particular, the gas tax — is something folks are talking a lot about. We’ll see. It’s not something I’ve talked to the Senate about, but I think our caucus would generally support those sorts of caps,” Hall said, referring to House Republicans.
“Obviously, we passed a property tax amendment today that would ultimately result in a cap on the amount of increase that those taxes could go up,” he said, “so I think what you’ve seen is a general principle of trying to keep taxes low as much as we possibly can, while still paying the state’s bills and investing in the things we do invest in.”
The consensus revenue forecast shows a “modest upward revision, reflecting slightly higher inflation, though rising prices and a waning boost from this year’s higher federal refunds may limit consumer spending later in the year,” according to the revised forecast from the legislature’s Fiscal Research Division and the Office of State Budget and Management, which is part of Gov. Josh Stein’s administration.
So can state government offer any immediate relief?
“Sure, that the state lives within its means, that we don’t see the state budget grow at rates that will create problems down the road, that we are balancing the spending side with the revenue side,” Berger said.
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "With high prices in stores and at gas pump, will NC lawmakers offer tax relief?."
