South Florida Business Journal: Report: Florida’s tax system among worst
media mentionWednesday, November 18, 2009
South Florida Business Journal
Florida’s poorest residents pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than do the richest families in the state, according to a newly released report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
The report notes that Florida’s lowest income group – those making about $10,500 a year – pay more than six times more of their income in taxes than those in the top 1 percent – those making about $2.4 million a year – based on income and taxes paid in 2007.
Those in the lowest group pay on average 13.5 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while those in the higher income bracket pay, on average, 2.1 percent, the report notes.
Middle-income families – those making about $37,400 a year – pay an average of 9 percent of their income, or more than four times as much as those in the highest income group.
Nationwide, the state and local tax obligation for all states averages about 10.9 percent for low-income families, 9.4 percent for middleincome and 5.2 percent for those in the top income bracket.
The findings are, in large part, due to the fact that Florida has no personal income tax, and relies on the state sales tax for revenue.
The report, which calls Florida’s tax structure “antiquated,” calls on the Legislature to revise the state’s tax system to “make it fairer and adequate to meet the need for public services.