GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — If you live in Guilford County, you could soon pay more in sales tax to help boost teacher pay. On Thursday, Guilford County commissioners approved a quarter-cent sales tax to go on the ballot this fall.
Right now, if you spend money at retail stores in Guilford County, you'll pay 6.75%. However, this proposed sales tax increase would bump it up to 7%.
Opinions on the proposed sales tax increase vary:
“I’m 100% behind that,” David Kirkland said.
“Horrible idea,” Caleb Travelstead added.
“I have mixed feelings about it,” Grady Williams III said.
County commissioners say the extra money would go to raising teacher salaries. The goal is to raise $25 million a year off the new sales tax. For some, that justifies digging a bit deeper into their wallets when they go to stores.
“I still know that teachers pull from their own pockets for resources for things that their students need. They are surrogate parents for a lot of them, so it’s a calling more than a job. But I do think it might retain some of the talent,” Kirkland said.
But some others aren't on board with the increase. Some say it's already tough for them to get by. Adding higher taxes on top of their bills is too much.
“Every 18 months, two years, it’s always something different about taxes,” Ronald Harris said. “Now all of a sudden, it’s a tax increase. When you go to the store to buy clothes, that’s extra money coming out of your pocket.”
However, this isn’t the first time the county has tried to raise sales taxes. In 2022, the Board of Commissioners voted to dedicate revenue from the new sales and use tax to help repay the $1.7 billion bond.
This marks its fifth attempt. After voters have struck it down four times, some believe the county should get the message.
“It shows a clear, definitive answer that the voters here in Guilford County aren’t for what they’re wanting to do,” Travelstead said. “Especially when it comes to raising taxes. I think they should probably listen to that. You can keep bringing it back, and I hope the voters again shut it down.”
However, right now, schools are struggling to keep teachers in the classroom and North Carolina is one of them. The latest State of the Teaching Profession report shows the highest number of NC teacher resignations in over two decades. Commissioners hope if the sales tax passes, it’ll help offset that here, and some residents think so too.
“Pay them a little bit more; you might have more teachers coming into the area,” Williams said. “Yeah, I’m all for that.”
This sales tax proposal will be on your ballot in November. This issue once again falls in the hands of the voters in Guilford County. You’ll get to decide once again if it passes or fails.
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