The 'low-tax' lie: States hyped for low taxes are low-tax only for the rich — The Hill
"Low-tax" Florida is the worst state in the country when it comes to tax fairness.
In reality, the states that get the most attention — such as Florida, Tennessee and Texas — have low taxes only for the wealthy. These states have average taxes for middle-class families, and levy some of the highest rates in the nation on low-income and working-class families. That’s because their state tax codes are regressive, meaning that those who have the highest incomes pay the lowest share of their income in taxes, and vice versa.
According to our study, Florida is the worst state in the country when it comes to tax fairness. Its tax code worsens income inequality in a more dramatic way than any other state’s. It’s no wonder why, since the lowest-income 20 percent of families pay nearly five times as much in taxes relative to their income as the wealthy do.
The story is the same in Tennessee and Texas, which like Florida have no personal income tax. Their consequent reliance upon sales and other taxes means that the top 1 percent of earners in these states pay much less as a percentage of income than the poorest families pay. By our reckoning, Tennessee’s tax code is third-worst for inequality, and Texas’s is seventh-worst.
