Marsha Derynck: Leaving a paper trail in N.C.

I am preparing my North Carolina tax return electronically. Here is something unexpected. We put in a solar array in 2014 and can get a tax rebate for up to 35 percent of the cost from the state.

However, in order to get the rebate, we cannot send in the form (NC-478G) electronically. We have to paper file that form. This is an NCDOR requirement. Paper filing? Our state requires paper filing?

So this means I have to print out my N.C. tax return that I have for years filed electronically and attach the form and mail it in. Of course, the rebate from the federal government can be filed electronically.

What century are we living in here in North Carolina? Or is it just to discourage us from putting in a solar array? I expect better from our state government.

This story was originally published March 21, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Marsha Derynck: Leaving a paper trail in N.C.."