Comments on: Alabama Tax Burden Illustrated

By: walt moffett

walt moffett — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:33:12 +0000

Sounds like someone needs to re-read Rand.

By: Onelife

Onelife — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:27:16 +0000

>>Susan, you are absolutely right. But do we like the fact that Alabama taxes people in poverty at such a high rate, much higher than other states? And at a higher rate than it taxes people with more means? Do we want to be a state that taxes people in poverty deeper into poverty?

Poor people should go on strike. They should stop being poor for a while. They should earn more money and pay the rich people rates. That would teach those Montgomery politicians a lesson!!!

By: Onelife

Onelife — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:23:14 +0000

>>the poorest 20 percent of Alabamians (who made under $13,000 a year) paid 10.6 percent of their incomes in state taxes, compared to 3.8 percent for the top 1 percent of taxpayers (whose annual earnings approached $700,000).

So, it costs the poor just over $1300/year to live in Alabama, while the rich are charged about $25,000/year for the same right. Those poor people sure are getting screwed…

By: Sales Tax on Groceries Before Senate Today » Doc’s Political Parlor

Sales Tax on Groceries Before Senate Today » Doc’s Political Parlor — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:40:27 +0000

[...] Scott Stantis of the Birmingham News illustrated that nicely in a cartoon here. [...]

By: walt moffett

walt moffett — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:15:32 +0000

Besides my purely selfish interests in seeing the sales tax dropped, there are a couple of other things to consider, it makes those on the low end better able to buy the goods and services provided by the top end. At $20k a year, things like dental care, fair trade organic foods, and routine medical care are luxuries.

However it looks like this issue is dying in the Senate, where all good idea go to die.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:29:30 +0000

Susan, you are absolutely right. But do we like the fact that Alabama taxes people in poverty at such a high rate, much higher than other states? And at a higher rate than it taxes people with more means? Do we want to be a state that taxes people in poverty deeper into poverty?

I think a lot of folks tend to agree with the Press-Register (and others who have made similar comments) that it’s “morally indefensible”…

By: springtime

springtime — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:35:24 +0000

Just so you fools know who is providing statistics to the Alabama Legislature (who heretofore is bereft of statistics unless in involved the calculus of pac to pac transfers from a lobbyist goon} it is a cadre of socialist/Obama supporters with ties to the EU and Iran. Wake Up People, the enemy is now here, not a world away!!! John Knight… what a stooge for falling for this.

ITEP Board of Directors

ITEP is governed by a group of leaders from academia, labor, and the policy community (affiliations used only for identification purposes):

President: Richard Pomp
University of Connecticut Law School

Vice-President: Robert Kuttner
The American Prospect

Howard Chernick
Hunter College

Henry Coleman
Rutgers University

Iris Lav
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Marie Monrad

Robert Reich
Brandeis University

Jean Ross
California Budget Project

Dianne Stewart
Center for Public Policy Priorities

Dean Tipps
Service Employees International Union

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:43:50 +0000

Mullet,

This is the report that you see cited most frequently:
http://www.itepnet.org/whopays.htm

They’re currently working on a new version right now…though Alabama’s tax system (or any state’s, really) hasn’t fundamentally changed since it was released.

By: Susan Fillippeli

Susan Fillippeli — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:23:46 +0000

Danny,

Looking at the dollars in those percentages. . .

The guy paying 3.6% of his income in taxes is contributing more than $26,000 to state revenues while the guy paying 10.6% is paying a little over $3,000.

I think it is always useful to look at both the precetages and the real dollars.

By: walt moffett

walt moffett — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:19:07 +0000

Publius, is it always wrong when folks act out of their own self interest?

By: publius

publius — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:45:45 +0000

Now, lets all sing Kumbaya and pat ourselves on the back for ‘helping the poor’. Do you think it will enhance your interview at the pearly gates? I guess Jack Williams thinks so, but his day is coming. This measure is a simple, socialist economic redistributivist policy. In the age of a shrinking economy, Alabama desires to punish producers to help non-producers? Please, Welfare is a way of life for these people so ‘it’ costs them nothing. Working poor? go back to college, trade school etc., and improve your lot at your own expense. Small business is sick and tired of subsidizing every socialist policy that comes along. Now they come in the name of “Jesus and Christian duty”. Had most hard working people desired to have too many children, not pursue higher education and other self improvement opportunities, no one would produce anything. This measure is an incentive for producers to produce less and move jobs out of alabama. Capital is not a captive audience, welfare and stupidity is a captive audience. Jack Williams and John Knight are a captive audience.

By: Danny

Danny — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:52:26 +0000

Mullet, Here is a post that references a B'ham News quote citing studies that have found that...

the poorest 20 percent of Alabamians (who made under $13,000 a year) paid 10.6 percent of their incomes in state taxes, compared to 3.8 percent for the top 1 percent of taxpayers (whose annual earnings approached $700,000).

I am sure there is probably more info available around about that.

By: Mullet

Mullet — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:26:51 +0000

What are the percentage figures based on? For example, how much in state taxes does someone who earns $30,000 pay? (Is there a calculation on how much state sales tax someone pays who earns that amount of money?) I frequently hear that we have a regressive tax rate, but I have not seen figures to back up that statement.

By: walt moffett

walt moffett — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:57:31 +0000

How if the proponents of bill can get re print rights, that cartoon would go a long way to convincing folks to vote yes in November.

Need to see if got some heat transfer paper left and a clean t shirt around the house.