The Seattle Times: Washington Suffers Most Regressive Tax System in the U.S.

In the latest Who Pays? report by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington state has “by far” the most regressive tax system in the nation. Poor residents here pay 16.8 percent of family income in state and local taxes while the wealthiest 1 percent pay only 2.4 percent.

By comparison, the percentage spread in Alaska is 7 percent and 2.5 percent; Idaho, 8.5 percent and 6.4 percent, and Oregon, 8.1 percent and 6.5 percent.

The study finds that every state’s tax system is unfair, with poorer residents paying more:

On average, the poorest 20 percent of taxpayers nationwide pay more than double the effective tax rate paid by the richest 1 percent of households (10.9 percent v. 5.4 percent).

It’s a myth that the poor get a free ride because most don’t pay federal taxes.

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