LA Times: How States Suck the Fairness out of the Tax System

A look at the data used by CTJ shows why this happens. It’s compiled annually by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which issues its own report, “Who Pays,” every few years. The main culprits are sales and excise taxes, which disproportionately hammer lower-income taxpayers. In every state and the District of Columbia, the wealthy pay lower proportions of their income in state and local taxes than the poor, or middle-income households, or both.

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