Did you wince as you paid your property taxes this year?
I did.
I am also appealing a revaluation of property our family owns in another North Carolina county, as the appraisal on a next-door lot of almost exactly the same size was valued at less than half of the Dicksons’ appraisal. Fingers crossed on that one.
That said, a proposal floating around in the North Carolina General Assembly for a state constitutional amendment limiting property taxes is a bad idea and then some. So far, no local government has ever hit the current limit of $1.50 per $100 value, which makes the proposed amendment look like a solution in search of a problem rather than a problem itself.
Property taxes are imposed locally to pay for local services, most of which we expect to be in place when we need them.
For example, if someone breaks into my residence, assaults me on the street, or hijacks my car, I definitely want a well-trained, adequately compensated law enforcement officer on duty to handle the situation. If I am injured, I definitely want a well-trained, adequately compensated EMS professional to tend to my injuries. I want garbage pickup and recycling services in my community, as well as parks for recreation and communing with nature. I want firefighters, streets with few potholes, sidewalks, and stormwater management programs. And, although my own precious jewels are long out of formal education, I want good schools for today’s students because education ultimately floats all boats.
All of these services are supported at least in part by local dollars raised by local property taxes. It is a gross generalization to say that lower taxes will mean fewer services, but it is also true.
Having been there and done that, I understand why some members of the General Assembly are supporting this constitutional amendment and why those who understand the tactic but do not support it would have a hard time voting against putting such a measure on the ballot in November. The hard, cynical truth is that no one in the history of the world has ever been successful on a platform of “I will never lower your taxes,” and no one wants to lose an election.
Short of further limiting local property taxes, even though no county has yet reached the current limit, what can be done to ease the very real burden suffered by some property tax payers?
Various proposals have been advanced for more nuance than provided by North Carolina’s current flat-rate property tax system. Second homes could be taxed at higher rates than primary residences. The current property tax valuation system—the one I am appealing—has obvious issues, as thousands of taxpayers can attest. Perhaps our burgeoning AI industry can help with this. Perhaps it will make it worse, but, at the moment all across the country and in North Carolina, expensive properties tend to be undervalued, and modest properties tend to be overvalued, a situation that generates enormous resentment. We could consider expanding property tax reductions for certain demographic groups like seniors and disabled individuals, including veterans.
The proposed constitutional amendment is a “one size fits all” vehicle when a more thoughtful and nuanced approach is needed. Individual taxpayers have our own situations, as do individual communities. None of us should be taken in by this “run on” bill, as in “I need a crowd-pleaser piece of legislation to ‘run on’ in 2026.”
This is a real-world example of “be careful what we wish for because our wish just might come true.” We can and should do far better than this.

Editor’s Note: Margaret Dickson served in the North Carolina General Assembly for four terms.