How Is Texas A Regressive State

Income tax is defined as “tax levied by a government directly on income, especially an annual tax on personal income.” Traditionally, Texas has not imposed these taxes on the people. After reviewing the positives and negatives that come with income tax, I believe Texas should implement income tax. Texas has been labeled as a “regressive state” or a state that results in the wealthier people paying less in taxes than the poorer people. In the document Who Pays State Taxation?, it shows us that in the state of Texas, the poorest 20% of the state pays 12.2% in taxes of their income, the middle 60% pays 7.6%, and the top 1% pays 3.3%. Being a regressive state results in having people who have a hard time supporting themselves paying more than people who have no problem with their finances. With an income tax, it would turn the state into a “progressive state” meaning that the people will be taxed based on their income, and it would be an appropriate amount for what they earn.
An income tax would lighten the amount Texas pays in other taxes.
Currently, Texas has a sales tax of 6.25%. This tax is above the “median” sales tax of 5.95% making it one of the highest sales taxes in the country. Alongside a high sales tax, Texas also has a high property tax. It is said that Texas receives about $1559 of property tax from each person. Texas is considered to be within the top fifteen for the highest property tax (Tax Foundation). Due to the fact that Texas lacks income tax, the state must rely on higher taxes in other areas. Dale Craymer, president of the business-backed Texas Taxpayers and Research Association explains how Texas compensates for the lack of an income tax by saying, “the way Texas has balanced it out is with lower-than-average spending, higher-than-average property taxes and higher-than-average sales taxes.” (Batheja). If Texas implemented income tax, the rate of these taxes would lower resulting in more reasonable
payments.
State income tax has the ability to give to programs that may need the funding in order to continue to provide services. The income tax would be used for programs that benefit the public. For example, income tax can be used to help with programs that support the older people in our state, and also the homeless people. This income tax can be used to improve the state as a whole.
Overall, I believe the wiser choice is to implement state income tax. Having income tax would allow all classes to pay an amount that correlates with the amount of money that they make rather than having everyone pay one price. With one price, it may place a strain on people and families who already have financial issues. Along with a correlated price, having a state income tax will help lower the other taxes Texas has placed on the state such as sales and property tax. Due to not having a state income tax, Texas must raise the rest of its’ taxes in order to balance everything out. Finally, with a state income tax, the state would have more money to put it towards programs to help the people living in the state.