05.02.12
Rich Man’s Burden — the state edition
“Lay the scourge upon those in want for if not, they will only desire more.” — from the Complete Sayings of American Jesus, in the year of our Lord, MMXII, at age 31.
Hot from the nation’s Dept. of Ensuring Fairness In Revenue Collection from the Indigent, , the five states where the progressive local governments tax those below the poverty line as much as they can:
1. Alabama is one of the country’s poorest states, and it taxes its poor residents’ incomes the most. The state has a poverty rate of 17.4 percent, which is among the nation’s highest. It also has the fifth-lowest median household income. A family of four at the poverty line must pay $548 in income taxes. This amount has consistently increased since 1994. Additionally, Alabama has the second-lowest tax threshold in the country. A single-parent family of three making $9,800 — or 55 percent of the group’s poverty level of $17,922 — remains subject to income tax.
2. Illinois taxes families of four making 57 percent of the poverty level. This means that a family earning $13,100 a year must pay income tax. Due to state fiscal issues, Illinois raised its flat income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent in 2011. This caused income taxes for a family of four at the poverty line to increase by $322. However, the state plans to fully implement tax credits for low-income families by 2013, which “will almost completely offset the impact of the income tax increase for poor families,??? according to CBPP.
What swell people! They’ll implement a tax credit by next year, maybe!
Rounding out the ‘top 5’, Hawaii, Oregon and Georgia.