Daily Record: Letter: State’s Tax Structure Hits the Poor the Hardest

Why did the recession have such a damaging effect on the state budget? Because, almost uniquely in the country, most of our state’s revenue comes from various kinds of sales tax. This causes real problems. The non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says Washington’s tax system is the most unfair in the entire country. That’s right, dead last in fairness. Our lowest income citizens pay 16.8 percent of their income in state taxes, while our highest income citizens only pay 2.5 percent of their income. In Idaho and Oregon, the poor pay 8.5 and 8.1 percent of their income in taxes, respectively.

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