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©]p Daily (Tar Mppl Survey questions business incentives Fuels debate among N.C. lawmakers BY CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR. STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR State legislators say they take issue with a recent survey that found that economic incentives do little to encourage businesses to stimulate the states economy. In a survey conducted by the N.C. Department of Commerce, only 30 percent of businesses across the state said economic incentives encourage them to add jobs. The survey focused on the William S. Lee Act, passed in 1996 and expanded in subsequent years. The act gives tax breaks to busi nesses that create new jobs or invest in new machinery. But the idea of providing incen tives to corporations to bring them into the state has taken fire in the N.C. General Assembly. “There's a significant debate about the effectiveness of the incentives, and we’ll look at that (study) and continue to look at (the incentives) to see if we are get ting our money’s worth,” said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland. Rand said he still is a proponent of the incentives if only for the fact that they help North Carolina compete with other states that offer them. In today’s economic conditions, competition is cutthroat among states trying to lure companies that create jobs. Offering incentives gives the state an added chance of attracting those businesses, Rand said. “You'd think all things being equal you would go where you would get the best incentive,” he said. Amy Fulk, spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tern Marc Basnight, D-Dare, echoed Rand’s sentiment about the fierce compe tition and said any measures taken to attract businesses to North Carolina are positive. Fulk added that it’s hard for any study including this most recent one— to quantify exactly how effective incentives are. There simply are too many fac tors businesses consider when I L fs73 : For a limited time, first-time buyers Save an additional *5 on purchases of *SO or more! Simply use this code: UNC2OO3 'Average retail pnce of anew college textbook 573 based on 2002 data from Follett Corp . Associated Press, 1/27.03. Average Half com oollege textbook pnoe S2B based on site statistics, January 2003 tFirst time buyers only limited time offer excludes step ping and handling: offer subject to change or termination without prior notice. Copyright 2003 Half.com. Inc. All rights reecrvod. Holf.com and the Half.com logo arc trademarks of Half.com Inc. eßay and the eßay logo arc registered trademarks of eßay tec. deciding where to set up shop, she said. “Incentives for a business are probably (one) ingredient,” Fulk said. “By and large, North Carolina is a great place to do business. “There are a lot of things about North Carolina that make it attractive not just for new busi nesses but for new residents.” But Rand said studies such as the latest one do raise questions. The General Assembly always is trying to tweak its use of incentives to get the most out of them, espe cially given the state of North Carolina’s economy. Slow economic times force leg islators to find ways to boost busi nesses already located in North Carolina, not just those consider ing a move to the state, Rand said. Rand added that he is a propo nent of legislation that benefits all businesses, not just new ones. He spoke specifically of keeping cor porate taxes low and promoting “a favorable business climate.” “Lowering the corporate tax rate and preserving the kind of environment that business feels comfortable in probably does more to attract businesses,” he said. “And it also helps you keep what you’ve got.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@ unc.edu. E EASTERN FEDERAL easternfederal.com Online Ticketing Available § www.EASTERNFEDERAL.com ( MOVIES AT TIMBERLYNE Weaver Dairy at Airport Rd. 933-8600 J THE MEDALLION* E3S Daily 315,515,715,915 MY BOSS'S DAUGHTER’ BBS Daily 325,5:25,7:25,9:25 FREDDY VS JASON’ I Daily 3:10,5:20,730,9 40 FREAKY FRIDAY S Daily 2:50,5:00,7.00,9:35 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN EB Daily 3:35,6:45,9:45 SEABISCUIT® Daily 3:30,705, 9:55 CB as&r g SHOWTIMES FOR TODAY ONLY! MATINEE. CHILD & SENIOR DISCOUNT ADVANCE TICKETING AVAILABLE *- NO PASSES OR DISCOUNTS You do the math. How smart is this: All the textbooks you need for up to 60% off retail prices. And all you have to do is go to half.com and type in the book titles, or ISBN numbers. Gotta love that new math. News Grad schools to sway cap talks BY CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR. STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR The geographical makeup of stu dent bodies at the state’s graduate and professional schools will come into play next month when officials begin reviewing the limit on out-of state student enrollment. In the first speech of the final year of his term, Brad Wilson, chairman of the UNC-system Board of Governors, said the board will consider revising the system’s 18 percent out-of-state cap this fall. Among the issues BOG mem bers will need to consider is the fact that out-of-state students are represented in high numbers in the stale’s graduate schools, said UNC-system President Emeritus Bill Friday. Those numbers mean the geo graphical diversity of UNC-system campuses is greater than many have taken into consideration, he said. Friday said that point might run counter to assertions that the state's universities do not have enough students from a wide vari ety of places. The percentage of out-of-state students in UNC-Chapel Hill's freshman class almost always mir rors the cap, but the percentage of out-of-state graduate and profes sional students is more than twice Duke Continuing Studies Test Preparation Effective •Affordable • Convenient 7]gre All materials included Saturdays or evenings at Duke 1450 ~/]gmat All materials included Saturdays or evenings at Duke $450 684-6259 www.learnmore.duke.edu/testprep that of incoming freshmen. In UNC-CH’s 2002 freshman class, the latest class for which data is available, 17.69 percent of stu dents were from other states. The percentage of out-of-state students in UNC-CH’s graduate and professional schools at that time, however, was 36.55. Percentages of out-of-state fresh men systemwide are several points less than UNC-CH’s numbers, said Alan Mabe, UNC-system vice pres ident for academic planning. Systemwide, 14.61 percent of the 2002 freshman class com prised out-of-state students. In the system’s entire 2002 undergraduate population, 12.41 percent of students were nonresi dents. At UNC-CH, larger numbers of out-of-state students in graduate and professional schools largely coincides with the prestige of a given program. “(The percentage of out-of-state students) plays heavily into the academic assessment of the pro gram— whether it can draw peo ple from all over the country or just from the region,” Mabe said. UNC-CH officials, including Chancellor James Moeser, have made a similar case for out-of-state students’ effect on the prestige of undergraduate programs. B *26 hQlf.corrr b veß#¥ Same textbooks. Smarter prices. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2003 “The cap has mostly to do with making sure that there are places ... for North Carolina high school graduates .” ALAN MABE, UNC-SYSTEM VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC PLANNING Though the BOG will take grad uate and professional schools’ experiences into account, Mabe said, the board will focus on under graduates, at least in part because of the system’s commitment to ensuring students access on that level. Limiting the number of spots for out-of-state students ensures a spot for every qualified North Carolina resident, he added. “The cap has mostly to do with making sure that there are places at North Carolina institutions for Sou you can purchase photo reprints from Di li stories! Go lo ww.dailytarheel.com Pay with any major credit card and it will be mailed directly to you! North Carolina high school gradu ates,” he said. The BOG Education Planning, Programs and Policies Committee will begin hearing arguments about the enrollment cap Sept. 11. The full BOG will begin consider ing revisions to the cap the next day. Wilson said he expects the BOG to make a definitive decision about the cap by November at the latest. Contact the State E? National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. 9
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