NC Furniture Manufacturers Are Owed Millions – Charlotte Observer
“North Carolina furniture manufacturers are owed more than $150 million in uncollected duties from importers of cheap wooden bedroom furniture from China. The money has gone uncollected for years by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., along with colleagues from other states, have recently tried to pressure the Obama administration to do something about the lost revenue. The senators have asked the agency to explain how it’s going to collect the money owed U.S. manufacturers. The answer, so far, is that it could take years. Stanley Furniture Company, a High Point-based manufacturer, is owed more than $71 million and Hickory-based Century Furniture is due more than $5.3 million in uncollected duties assessed against overseas furniture manufacturers who “dump” products into the U.S. market at artificially low prices…Since the 1990s, tens of thousands of North Carolina furniture jobs moved to Asia, where it costs less to produce furniture. The industry also suffered from predatory practices used by China, such as subsidies and currency manipulation. The North Carolina Department of Commerce estimates the state now has 33,684 workers in the industry, compared with 80,765 furniture jobs in 1993.”
CEO Survey: North Carolina Ranks No. 3 for Business – Triangle Business Journal
“North Carolina is the third-best state for business, according to a recent report by Chief Executive magazine, moving up a notch from last year. The report is based on responses to a survey, now in its 11th year, of 511 CEOs who rated states in three areas: taxes and regulations, quality of the workforce, and living environment, which includes quality of education, cost of living, affordable housing, social amenities, and crime rates. South Carolina dropped five spots, while Georgia leaped up five spots in its place.”
More Corporate Tax Cuts Likely in NC – Charlotte Observer
“An increase in state revenue collections is likely to trigger new cuts in the state’s corporate income tax rate, beginning with the 2016 calendar year, officials said Wednesday. The latest forecast shows state revenue growing to levels that would beat targets written into state law — one feature of the overhauled tax code that Republican legislators approved in 2013. ‘If those triggers do in fact meet the goals that we set forth, then we will follow through on that promise,’ Gov. Pat McCrory said Wednesday. Republicans have said cutting the corporate income tax rate has been — and will remain — an important tool for attracting businesses and improving the state’s employment picture. The 2013 overhaul trimmed the corporate income tax rate from 6.9 percent to 6 percent for 2014. It was reduced again to 5 percent for 2015. If the state generates $20.2 billion in general fund tax revenue by the end of the current fiscal year, which is June 30, then the legislation allows for a cut in the corporate tax rate to 4 percent beginning on Jan. 1, 2016.”
Bicycle Tourism: A Growing Factor in Western NC – Mountain Express, Asheville
“May flowers are here, bringing National Bike Month along for the ride. In anticipation of future tourists on bikes, a coalition of organizations in the western counties gave them a boost by supporting a new study by Kostelec Planning. The study explores ways to go beyond traditional tourism-enhancement strategies — ‘putting butts (or heads) in beds,’ as the study puts it — and offers ways to attract more pedal-powered visitors. The study, titled ‘Bikes in Beds: How to Maximize Bicycle Tourism in Haywood County and Western North Carolina,’ was produced at the request of organizations serving western North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties.”
Drugmaker and University Ally to Seek Cure for AIDS – NY Times
“Years ago, curing AIDS was considered so out of the question that some scientists dared not even mention the possibility. But in the latest sign that attitudes are changing, the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is teaming up with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to start a research institute and a company aimed at curing HIV infection and AIDS. In an agreement set to be announced on Monday, GlaxoSmithKline will contribute $4 million annually over five years to the research center, set up on the North Carolina campus. It will also move a small number of its own scientists to Chapel Hill.”
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