tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111449885694140250.post2939843257777099273..comments2023-07-30T03:08:31.149-05:00Comments on Cottonmouth: Mississippi's tax system unfair to poor; is anyone surprised?Matt Eichelbergerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03518932804450447938noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111449885694140250.post-19994282314364659242011-04-20T08:14:30.078-05:002011-04-20T08:14:30.078-05:001:05: After exemptions, MSians pay 3% on the firs...1:05: After exemptions, MSians pay 3% on the first $5K, 4% on the second $5K, and 5% thereafter. There is no particularly good reason why people making $40K, $100K, and $250K should all be paying 5%. A flat tax is not "fair," for the reasons Cottonmouth explains: the utility of $1 is different for different income levels.Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02325205512110155291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111449885694140250.post-30997698371356908212011-04-20T07:48:37.513-05:002011-04-20T07:48:37.513-05:00These numbers are for taxes as a percentage of inc...These numbers are for taxes as a percentage of income, and it includes all state and local taxes, not just state income tax. Not updating the state income tax brackets has the effect of exacerbating the gap in tax burden between the rich and the poor. For instance, everyone pays the same amount of sales tax on an item, but that amount is a greater percentage of income for the poor than it is for the rich. Not having a realistic income tax bracket structure means, as a percentage of income, the poor are guaranteed to spend more in taxes than the rich. <br /><br />In all likelihood, fixing this problem means I'll have to pay more in taxes. So be it. A large part of the reason we're 50th in everything that matters is because we don't take in enough money to fund government services above a third world standard. In order to make up the difference, we're having to look to the federal government for funding. It's past time we start pulling our own weight.Cottonmouthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07006622326585494533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111449885694140250.post-61849690179051762252011-04-20T01:05:10.994-05:002011-04-20T01:05:10.994-05:00Doesn't Mississippi have a 3% 4% and 5% system...Doesn't Mississippi have a 3% 4% and 5% system? So the lowest earners pay 3% of non deductible wages and highest pay 5%? And aren't families of 4 with under $30k in income in the lowest bracket of 3%. and do families with that low of an income even pay state taxes? I'm definitely for over hauling the federal tax code that has been amended too many times and become entirely too complicated in the last 25 years. But the state tax code seems way simpler, fairer and more efficient. What am i missing?Rogen Chhabrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08034042594985821175noreply@blogger.com