House, Senate Democrats closer to tax agreement

RALEIGH (AP) - N.C. House and Senate Democrats inched closer again yesterday to a tax agreement that they hope will satisfy Gov. Bev Perdue and break a month-long logjam over getting a permanent state-government budget approved.

Tax negotiators said after a series of closed-door meetings that they have reworked a proposal that Democrats at the General Assembly accepted last week. However, Perdue balked at an income-tax surcharge because middle-class families would have to pay it, too.

"We've had very good discussions with the Senate," said Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, the House's chief tax negotiator. "We're looking at changes that move in the direction of the governor's concerns."