Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. sales tax looks to climb; so does unfairness, critics say
media mention“Tax experts say the sales tax extracts an especially high price on the poor. In addition, renters, who constitute 30 percent of the state’s households, would receive no direct benefit from property-tax breaks.
“There’s a reason why Pennsylvania has one of the most unfair tax systems in the country, and it’s the sales tax,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, a nonpartisan research group. “The sales tax is the single most regressive revenue source Pennsylvania relies on.”
The sales tax is considered regressive because it typically collects a larger share of income from those who make less; the less someone makes, the higher portion of income they must spend for necessities.”