Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Who Pays More?

MN2020 the must read think tank that provides the facts to go along with their lean nail it once again.

Minnesota Taxes Heavy on Low & Middle Income Families


This information demonstrates that Minnesota's tax system is regressive. Low and moderate income households pay a significantly larger percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do high income households. In fact, for the 2nd through 9th deciles (incomes from $9,783 to $123,937), the ETR ranges from 11.5 percent to 12.5 percent, while the wealthiest ten percent of Minnesota households have an ETR of just 10.0 percent.

According to the 2009 MTIS, Minnesota's state and local tax system has become sharply more regressive from 2004 to 2006, meaning that an increased share of total Minnesota taxes is being borne by low and moderate income households and a smaller share is borne by high income households.
We are going through difficult times, and the adults that are in charge are tasked with making the tough decisions. Part of those decisions involve looking hard at the choices we have in front of us.

After over a half dozen years of a frozen revenue stream, scraping to the bone and hitting marrow type cuts, and an economy that is doing its own little dance on the State's budget, something has got to give. Why can't we start by making sure those that can at least pay at the same rate as those who can't.

Flash

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