Abolish the NC Drug Tax

The Drug Tax extracts hundreds of thousands of dollars from low-income communities and communities of color each year, with the average tax assessed for an individual being $8,872. They collect this money from people’s bank accounts, garnishing their wages, and seizing and selling their personal property. Most of the money collected then gets funneled back to the law enforcement agencies that over police black and brown communities. 

Nearly 5,000 NC residents are leaving the carceral system every year with thousands and thousands of dollars in drug tax debt even after they have already spent years in prison paying their debt to society with their lives. Even if a person gets found not guilty or their drug charges get dismissed in court, they can still be required to pay thousands of dollars for the drug tax. It’s time to repeal the drug tax in North Carolina!

Did You Know?

• Paying the drug tax does not prevent one from obtaining criminal charges for possession of the substance, it merely prevents them from obtaining penalties and back taxes on the back end of obtaining the charge.

• Despite the fact that this law mandates payment, some have found it virtually impossible to do. The process of obtaining the required stamps is very cumbersome and confusing. 

• The drug tax most directly impacts low-income communities and people of color.

Resources

• Drug Money: North Carolina’s little-known tax on illegal drugs and alcohol - WHQR

• NC Drug Tax One Pager - NC Justice Center

• “Nothing to do with Grace, Nothing to do with Justice”: The Human Impact of North Carolina’s Unauthorized Substances Tax - NC Justice Center