KBJR TV: Tax Burden Higher In Percentage For Lower Income Workers
media mentionBy KBJR Manager
KBJR-TV KBJR-TV
1/17/2011 5:18:02 PM ET 2011-01-17T22:18:02
Duluth, MN (Northland’s NewsCenter) – Think tank Minnesota 2020 has conducted a study finding Minnesota’s middle- and lower-income populations shoulder a disproportionate tax burden compared to the state’s wealthiest.
Using data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Minnesota 2020 compared tax systems in all 50 states.
The report finds Minnesota’s tax system has become more regressive since 2000 in actual terms and compared to other states, meaning a bigger tax shift to lower- and middle-income residents.
Overall Minnesota’s lowest earners pay 9.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes, compared to the state’s highest earners who pay 7.7 percent.
Property taxes in Minnesota have become dramatically regressive, with the lowest 80 percent seeing a significant rise compared to a sizable drop for the highest five percent of earners. The report highlights why Minnesota is becoming a more regressive tax state.