Gov. Bev Perdue lobbied Thursday for her plan to temporarily increase the state sales tax by 3/4 of a cent, with the revenue going to education.

Speaking at the Microsoft campus in southwest Charlotte, Perdue said the state has a history of investing in education - a tradition that helped transform North Carolina from a low-wage state to one that attracts companies like Microsoft, Siemens and Google.

She said the General Assembly should enact the sales-tax increase, which would raise about $850 million a year.

Perdue said she came to Microsoft off West Arrowood Road because it "represents the concrete returns you get from investing in education."

She said the tax would "reverse damaging cuts that are threatening our children's future"

The plan, however, is likely to meet resistance in the Republican-controlled legislature. Earlier this week, Senate leader Phil Berger said the tax would be "dead on arrival."

Rob Lockwood of the N.C. Republican Party said Thursday that the most recent state budget added jobs in state education, and said Perdue is "desperate to increase the size of government" by raising the sales tax.

The increase would raise the sales tax in most counties from 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent.

In Mecklenburg County, the rate would be higher. The county already has a half-penny sales tax for transit, and a 1-cent tax on prepared food and beverages.

The temporary tax would raise the tax on a restaurant bill in Mecklenburg to 9 percent.

In speaking with reporters after her speech, Perdue said she wouldn't give a specific timeline as to how long the temporary tax should be in place.

She said she was optimistic the state's economy was turning around, and said she would repeal the tax when the state can fully fund education.

Perdue warned Thursday that additional education cuts are coming because federal stimulus dollars are expiring this year.

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who has announced he is running for governor this year, said in a statement that "Governor Perdue campaigned on the promise that it was the exact wrong time to raise taxes and since then she has repeatedly broken that promise."

The (Raleigh) News & Observer contributed.