Tax Fairness Could Mean More Resources

[unhappycamper]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Tax-Fairness-Could-Mean-Mo-by-David-Sirota-Political_Poor_Republican_Rich-150220-659.html



Tax Fairness Could Mean More Resources
By David Sirota
OpEdNews Op Eds 2/20/2015 at 18:30:43

Roads are crumbling, bridges require repairs, schools need upgrades and public pension systems remain underfunded. How can states and cities find the money to address any of these problems? One way could be through their tax codes.

According to a new report, if the rich paid the same state and local tax rate as the middle class, states and cities would have hundreds of billions of dollars more a year in public revenue.

Last month, the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice the effective state and local tax rate (10.9 percent) as the richest 1 percent of taxpayers (5.4 percent).

That preceded the new report from the left-leaning groups Good Jobs First and the Keystone Research Center, which finds that if tax laws were changed to compel the highest income earners to pay the same rate as everyone else, states and localities would rake in up to $128 billion a year in new revenue. If just the top 1 percent of earners were compelled to pay the typical middle-class tax rate, the report says the change would raise more than $68 billion in new annual revenues.

[singledadof2]

1. Taxes, Healthcare & Employment cuts

Last edited Mon May 18, 2015, 11:17 AM - Edit history (1)

Just an FYI, I work for a college and most recently they have scaled back employees, cut hours to part time employees and to top it off our health care is going up yet again !! Curious as to how this is helping me/us ??!!

[uppityperson]

2. "states and cities would have hundreds of billions of dollars more a year in public revenue"

More revenue would mean your job would not be scaled back but there would be money to pay for full time employees.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. The alternative minimum tax should be expanded

to tax long term capital gains at the same rate as wages. It makes absolutely no sense that income from investments should be taxed at a lower rate than income from the sweat of your brow.

They also need to charge a transaction tax on all financial transactions, including swaps.