The question is not more tax, but proportionality of tax.
As far as I know, most economists, and statisticians have shown that
Sales tax is mostly regressive.
Those at the lower end of the income spectrum pay a higher percentage
of their income in sales tax than higher income folks.
Especially in the state of Alabama, lower incomes have a tendency to
much more of their income in tax.
Property tax here is a joke at best. Renters have to pay more of
their income for rent (which includes a much higher property tax rate
(nearly double) ) then home owners. Our property taxes are based on
a convoluted system but it means we pay only a portion of the true
value of property. Most huge landholders in this state pay a small
tax on their property.
Not all states are equal in how they treat low income folks.
When I lived in Wisconsin (which did not tax food and whose income
tax rates were not bad) I even got an earned income credit from them
in some years when I got the earned income credit from the feds.
There property taxes were fairly straight forward, and high. I saw a
couple of the property tax bills of my farmers and they paid a lot of
tax for farm fields.
Stewart
At 02:37 PM 1/30/2009, you wrote:
I was unfamiliar with states that tax food - it seems that some
governments know no restraint.
I stand corrected on that point.
Still, given the higher marginal tax rates on income, I very much
doubt that you pay more tax than the more wealthy.
Matthew
Rev. Stewart A. Marshall
mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net
Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org
Ozark, AL SL 82
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