North Carolina Department of Revenue

The North Carolina Department of Revenue was created in 1921 by the North Carolina General Assembly. The department is headed by a Secretary that is appointed by the Governor. The Secretary is a member of the Governor's Cabinet. Currently, the department is responsible for administering the collection of the North Carolina state income tax, gasoline tax, sales tax, beverage tax, inheritance tax, .[1][2]

North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR)

Agency overview
Formed	1921
Headquarters	501 North Wilmington Street, Raleigh, North Carolina
Agency executive	Secretary of Revenue Ronald Penny
Parent agency	North Carolina Cabinet
Website	www.ncdor.gov

History

In 1849, North Carolina first imposed an income tax of three percent of interest, dividends, profits, wages, and salaries and a fixed fee of $3.00 on citizens with incomes in excess of $500. The income tax supplemented an existing tax on property and the poll tax. Local officials were responsible for collecting the new income taxes. Although the income tax provide a major portion of the state revenue, the income taxes were rarely collected after the civil war due to a lack of a way to verify income sources.[2]

When the North Carolina Constitution was rewritten after the Civil War in 1868, the North Carolina State Tax Commission was authorized to tax trades, professions, franchises, and incomes. In 1903, the State Tax Commission recommended transferring property tax assessments to local authorities vice the state and income, license, franchise, and inheritance taxes would remain with the state. In 1921, the General Assembly enacted a state-administered personal and corporate income tax. As part of this new tax legislation, the assembly created the Department of Revenue to administer, enforce and collect the income tax.[2]

When the financing of schools, roads, and prisons was shifted from local government to state government responsibility in the 1930s, a retail sales tax of three percent was enacted to pay for it with the Department of Revenue responsible for collecting it. The tax system under the Department of Revenue management has remained almost unchanged since then.[2]

Secretaries/Commissioners of the Department of Revenue

The Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue is appointed by the Governor. From 1921 to 1873, the position was called Commissioner of Revenue. While the position was initially created in 1921 to be nominated by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and elected in the same manner as other public offices in 1924, this was changed in 1929 to allow the Governor to appoint the commissioner as it has been done since then. The secretary is a member of the governors Cabinet. The following secretaries/commissioners have held this position:[3][4]

Name	Term	Appointed	Party	Home County	Governor
Ronald G. Penny	2017 to Present[5]	April 27, 2017	Democrat	Wake	Roy Cooper[note 1]
Jeff Epstein	2016-2017	January 6, 2016	Republican	Mecklenburg	Pat McCrory
Lyons Gray	2013 - 2016	January 5, 2013	Republican	Forsyth	Pat McCrory
David William Hoyle	2010 - 2013	September 2010	Democrat	Gaston	Bev Perdue
Kenneth Lay	2009 - 2010		Democrat		Bev Perdue
E. Norris Tolson	2001 - 2009		Democrat		Mike Easley
Muriel K. Offerman	1996 - 2001		Democrat		Jim Hunt
Janice H. Faulkner	1993 - 1996		Democrat		Jim Hunt
Betsy Y. Justus	1990 - 1993		Republican		James G. Martin
Helen Ann Powers	1985 - 1990		Republican		James G. Martin
Mark G. Lynch	1977 - 1985		Democrat		Jim Hunt
Mark H. Coble	1973 - 1977	June 8, 1973	Republican	Guilford	James Holshouser
Gilmer Andrew Jones, Jr.	1972 - 1973	December 31, 1971	Democrat	Wake	Robert W. Scott
Ivie L. Clayton	1966 - 1971	July 8, 1966	Democrat	Wake	Dan K. Moore, Robert W. Scott[note 2]
Ivie L. Clayton	1965 - 1965	January 11, 1966	Democrat	Wake	Dan K. Moore[note 2]
Lewis Sneed High	1964 - 1965	April 23, 1964	Democrat	Cumberland	Terry Sanford[note 3]
William A. Johnson	1961 - 1964	January 16, 1961	Democrat	Harnett	Terry Sanford[note 4]
James S. Currie	1957 - 1961	August 8, 1957	Democrat	Wake	Luther H. Hodges[note 5]
Eugene G. Shaw	1949 - 1957	April 26, 1949	Democrat	Guilford	W. Kerr Scott[note 6]
Edwin M. Gill	1942 - 1949	June 2, 1942	Democrat	Wake	J. Melville Broughton R. Gregg Cherry[note 7]
Allen J. Maxwell	1929 - 1942	March 18, 1929	Democrat	Wake	Oliver Max Gardner
Rufus A. Doughton	1923-1925 1925-1929	January 29, 1923	Democrat	Alleghany	Cameron A. Morrison
Alston Davidson "Aus" Watts	1921 - 1923	May 1, 1921	Democrat	Iredell	Cameron A. Morrison

Notes:

1. Ronald G. Penny served as acting Secretary since January 2017.
2. Irvie L. Clayton was appointed as acting commissioner by Gov. Moore. He was later reappointed by Gov. Scott on July 21, 1969 until his resignation on December 31, 1971.
3. Lewis Sneed High was appointed by Gov. Sanford to replace William A. Johnson and served until his resignation in January 1965.
4. William A. Johnson was appointed by Gov. Sanford to replace James Currie and served until April 1964.
5. James S. Currie was appointed by Gov. Hodges to replace Eugene Shaw and served until his resignation in January 1961.
6. Eugen G. Shaw was appointed by Gov. Scott to replace Gill and reappointed by Gov. Umstead on June 29, 1953.
7. Edwin M. Gill was initially appointed by Gov. Broughton to replace Allen J. Maxwell and reappointed by Gov. Cherry on June 14, 1945 until his resignation on July 1, 1949.

References

1. "About the North Carolina Department of Revenue". ncdor.gov. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
2. Williams, Wiley J. (2006). "State Taxes". NCPEDIA.
3. Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina Department of Revenue". carolana.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
4. Cheney, John L. Jr. (1974). North Carolina Government, 1585–1974. p. 428.
5. "Governor Cooper names leaders of Revenue and Information Technology". governor.nc.gov.