Philadelphia Business Journal: Pa. tax system among ‘Terrible 10’ for working families
media mentionJan 30, 2013, 1:27pm EST
Staff Philadelphia Business Journal
Pennsylvania is among the 10 states with the most regressive tax systems in the United States, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says.
The group says families in the state earning less than $19,000 a year pay a higher percentage of their incomes, 12 percent, in state and local taxes than the richest 1 percent, who pay 4.4 percent.
The Pennsylvania Budge and Policy Center is calling for a graduated income tax rate in the state, and says “families who qualify for state personal income tax forgiveness still pay large shares of their earnings in sales, local income and property taxes … At the same time, wealthy taxpayers benefit greatly from tax laws that allow them to write off property and income taxes from their federal taxes.”
Others in the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s “Terrible 10”, from most to least regressive, the group said, are Washington, Florida, South Dakota, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, Indiana and Alabama.