Income Tax Debate: State Taxes Matter, Too
For all the discussions about what tax rates would be "fair" there is a simple element missing: state income and sales taxes. I've written that federal income tax rates weren't actually higher in terms of effective tax rates due to deductions ( The 90 Percent Tax Rate Myth ) and other factors. It's also easy to complain about the "400 richest families," but in the 1930s a mere three men owned 40% of all wealth in the United States (Carnegie, Morgan, and Rockefeller). If you wonder about concentrated wealth, buy The Men Who Built America from the History Channel. Yes, the wealthy are paying (slightly) less in federal taxes than the historical norms. But, they are also paying much, much more to the states and local governments. How can we ignore the value of those contributions? Nine states have no tax on regular income (wages), as of this blog entry: Alaska Florida Nevada New Hampshire South Dakota Tennessee Texas Washington Wyoming —...