How should your state tax you? Western Reserve -- the 51st state
Posted May 25, 2017 in Op-Eds
Graduated personal income tax is crucial
Zach Schiller
Research director
Policy Matters Ohio
Two principles are most important for a tax system: We need to raise enough revenue for strong public services like education, health care and infrastructure and we need to do it fairly.
Neither of these principles has been followed closely with our current state and local tax system. We don't raise enough to make needed investments in people, and we reinforce inequality by taxing a larger share of the income of poor and middle-class residents than of rich ones. In structuring a new tax system, we need to bear in mind the lesson from a dozen years of state tax cutting: It doesn't work.
The crucial element of an adequate and fair tax system is a strong, graduated personal income tax. That means the rate rises with income, so it is based on ability to pay. It also grows with the economy. A well educated workforce is a key to prosperity, and business should contribute to that through a corporate income tax.
Other sources of revenue also are needed to generate the resources we need. Whether we tax sales, property or income, we need all of our taxes to be broadly based, without loopholes that reduce revenue and distort the economy in favor of certain taxpayers.
Original Article: http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/201...