Governing: This Week in Public Finance

She’s right that sales tax exemptions are political. But to be fair, which exemptions aren’t? Moreoever, taxes themselves are unavoidably political. They speak to the policies and values held by each government. For example, four of the top 10 states that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks as the most regressive also don’t exempt groceries from their sales tax as a way of softening the burden on the poor. In contrast, all of the least regressive states do.

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