From Paben
The sales tax rates in Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala., are 10 percent, the highest of the 200 largest cities in the country, according to data from the Washington state Department of Revenue forwarded by the free-market think tank Washington Policy Center.
In Washington, Seattle and Bellevue had the highest rates, at 9.5 percent.
Click here to see the current sales tax rates throughout Whatcom County (note: PTBA means inside the boundaries of Whatcom Transportation Authority, which is all of the county except the Newhalem area up the North Cascades Highway).
The highest in Whatcom County is in Bellingham, at 8.7 percent. Today’s election will decide whether Ferndale increases its sales tax rate to pay for transportation projects. The city is currently at 8.5 percent; the increase would boost it to 8.7 percent.
For a REAL look at regressive sales taxes without the Herald spin, take a look at a real study using real data and real methodology. (The methodology is explained on page 121 and uses government’s own economic projections plus models from the US Treasury and the Congressional Budget Office.)
www dot itepnet dot org slash whopays3 dot pdf
Once you have downloaded the report, go to page 2 and look at the table of The Ten Most Regressive State Tax Systems. The MOST regressive is (drumroll…..) WASHINGTON! Washington leads the pack because the poorest 20% of the state’s citizens pay, on average, 17.3% of their income for state taxes. Alabama, mentioned by Jared, is only 10.2%. Alabama is 10th out of the top 10. A sales tax alone does not make Washington the most regressive state for taxation. A regressive sales tax PLUS the lack of an income tax does. This is another example of Herald reporters only reporting part of the story and ignoring highly relevant information. The reading public is far more sophisticated than Herald reporters or Ferndale officials realize. People understand the tax burden on the poor is quite high and every bit extra is felt by the poorest members of society.
Do not trust data from a “free-market think tank.” Do your research and think for yourself. For a hilarious look at poor math from the Washington Policy Center, google “Washington Policy Center Doubles Down On Mistakes” – the posting is on the Sightline Daily blog by Eric de Place. As Eric says, “1.3% of $2.30 is 3 cents,” but the WPC thinks it is “4-6 cents.” !!!
Actually Walter, since Herald reporters generally make less than the median income, we have a pretty good gut-level understanding about regressive taxation, or for that matter, regressive water rate structure.
John – Just noticed your comment. If you have a “gut-level understanding” of regressive tax systems, why do you still engage in spin?
And no fair favoring me with any more of your snide and snotty comments. Just answer the question.
Here is another comparison of tax burdens from the Tax Foundation, which advertises itself as a “nonpartisan think tank,” but nevertheless has ties to conservative groups. For instance, Paul Krugman dismissed them as “not a reliable source” in 2008 and perpetrating “deliberate fraud” in 2011 (source: Wikipedia entry on Tax Foundation). [Disclaimer: I give Krugman both plus and minus points depending on what he writes, so I am NOT hewing to the "liberal" line here.] Even though I think the source is tainted, I still provide it. This is entirely different from publishing a report that only addresses a single facet of the problem, like Jared’s original article. Also, putting out a skewed article two days before the Ferndale election is an attempt by the Herald, via its reporters, to influence the election. There has been enough controversy about the fourth estate and its influence on politics for over 200 years so I don’t have to go into it. Suffice it to say that my source for this Tax Foundation report is from Jon Talton – a real journalist – and his Sound Economy blog.
www dot taxfoundation dot org slash publications slash show slash 2181 dot html