From educator protests to debates in the legislature, North Carolina's plan to phase out the corporate income tax rate by 2030 is a hot topic. For this edition of Carolina Curious, Nathan Goldman, an accounting professor at NCSU, explains the rationale behind the cuts and what drives businesses to certain states.

The nonpartisan forecast shows that North Carolina collected about $1 billion more in tax revenue than anticipated in 2025-26, with more expected in 2026-27.

The deal would leave in place a number of other tax exemptions for data centers, including for their construction materials and hardware.

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission underwent a political shift in 2023. In 2024, regulators proposed a monitoring and minimization approach after a lobbyist group asked them to do so.

The regulations being considered right now are called the PFAS and 1,4 Dioxane Monitoring and Minimization Plans, respectively. Supporters say they're confident this voluntary approach will result in reductions.

The "Real Tickets, Real Fans Act" would ban speculative ticket sales, where the website sells tickets it doesn't actually have. Musicians and event venues say they're seeing fans showing up with fake tickets they bought online from the sites.

GOP leaders in the state House and Senate announced Tuesday afternoon that they've finally reached a framework deal for a state budget for the fiscal year that began last July.

A state House committee voted Tuesday to close an affordable housing tax loophole that’s causing major budget problems for urban counties.

The federal government has eliminated clean energy tax credits and rolled back greenhouse gas regulations on mobile sources such as cars and trucks, creating economic headwinds for carbon-free supply chains.

Both Senate leader Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall said this week that they support repealing at least some of the state's data center sales tax exemptions.