Think tank dissecting state taxes

North Carolina's next governor might have waiting on his or her desk a major study outlining how the state should modernize its tax system.

The Institute for Emerging Issues, the think tank headed by former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt, has set a goal of completing a set of fiscal recommendations by January 2009.

The institute, with headquarters at N.C. State University, began a study last year examining whether the state tax structure created in the 1930s still makes sense. The backdrop for the study was the legislature's continued budget struggles, increasing Internet sales and questions about whether local or state government should be responsible for certain costs.

The institute convened working groups of experts, which prepared papers for a conference held at the university's McKimmon Center in February.

In September and October, the institute plans to hold forums in five communities from Asheville to Manteo. It hopes to have heavy involvement from political and business leaders, among others.

The idea, said Luke Bierman, the institute director, is to have a comprehensive tax modernization package ready for the new governor and new legislature.

Tax refunds speedy

Norris Tolson, the state revenue secretary, says tax refunds are flowing as never before.

"We are doing much better this year than any year since I've been here," said Tolson, who became secretary in 2001.

One measure, said Tolson, was how much interest the department paid on refunds returned 45 days or more after the deadline April 15.

Through the end of June, the state had paid $62,000 in interest, which Tolson said was the lowest amount since 1999. During the same period last year, the state paid out $118,000 in interest on refunds.

"We are basically finished with personal income," Tolson said. "We have zero backlog. In previous years, we would have had a backlog."

Victory in Iraq?

Tired of watching those "Law and Order" reruns? Tune in this weekend to historian Larry Schweikart's take on how the United States is winning the war in Iraq.

Schweikart, the author of "America's Victories: Why the U.S. Wins Wars and will Win the War On Terror," spoke earlier this month to a John Locke Foundation event in Wilmington. His talk is scheduled to be broadcast on C-SPAN2 at 3:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

"I submit to you that we won the conflict in Iraq -- historically speaking -- in November 2004 at Fallujah," Schweikart says," and that victory was further ensured with Zarqawi's recent death. Thirty years from now, I think historians will look back at November 2004 as a tipping point."