South By North Strategies, Ltd.

John Quinterno of South by North Strategies Ltd. recently appeared in a news story about the Governor of North Carolina’s recent “State of the State” address.

Meanwhile, John Quinterno, a principal with South by North Strategies, a Chapel Hill research firm that analyzes the state’s economy, questioned the impact of the corporate tax cut. He said the tax generally only applies to large companies and most of them already pay a lower tax rate due to existing tax breaks.
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Of the 6.9 percent corporate income tax rate the governor proposes cutting to 4.9 percent, Quinterno said, “While it sounds good, relatively few corporations actually pay it.”
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[Gov. Bev] Perdue will face further pressure from progressives once she rolls out her budget and gives the details of her proposed cuts in programs and services. But Quinterno said she and the Republican-led General Assembly have left themselves few options given the state’s economic and budget circumstances and their unwillingness to raise taxes or revise the state tax code.
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“They are facing a very difficult situation and in some ways they are trying to square a circle,” he said. “They are trying to protect fundamental services, but at the same time trying to do that with a revenue stream and a revenue system that is not able to generate the investments that people say they want. Add to that the whole balanced budget requirement the state has and no one faces very good choices.”