Yes, especially if one is making Roth Conversions before the 'Rats get in charge of US tax rates again.
My state has:
Low income tax
Low property tax
NO sales tax
I prefer no sales tax...
The errors are in the assumptions
Helping the poor is best achieved at a local level
The Moral Corrosiveness of treating the poor as a herd of cattle to be
fed and watered is profoundly harming the black community, among other things
The percentage of children born to single parent households is horrific
Government does not, and can not, Love, Care, or Give a Damn
Any group of individuals larger than about 150 (Dunbars Number)
ceases to be able to care about each other, as individuals
Love of Thy Neighbor as Thyself atrophies,
Our Vision of the Second Great Command Dies
The people “cared for” by Government are treated like livestock
Caring in society is best achieved by the smallest groups possible,
Families are the prototype, Churches are an excellent example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar’s_number
Texas has no state income tax. But its property taxes are very high. If states don’t get the revenue one way, they get it another. Which is better? I have no clue. Other factors may be more important. But property taxes aren’t tied to income, while income taxes are.
I think liking other lifestyle-related things are more important than taxes, but that’s just me.
Honestly, from this guy’s tax perspective, I’m sure it’s a benefit to the people that live there, but unless you’re really a high wage earner, I think it’s closer to a wash than most people realize.
Why? Most states without an income tax typically have a more aggressive structure in place for sales taxes. Texas is the perfect example where there are State, County, City, Transit and Special District sales taxes galore. Yes, these are a function of what you spend. However, the average person is spending a higher percentage of their income on things than a wealthier person would. And the wealthier person can more easily afford the taxes.
The climate of a state plays a big role too. Here in the northeast the weather can be brutal on roads, bridges, airports etc... In a place where it rarely snows or ices, there is no need to fund that equipment. No need for ice melter, sand, salt, or the labor to move it. No need to repair roads constantly from the salting, freezing, cracking, expanding, plowing... it all takes a toll. Larger populations mean large Police Force, Fire Brigades, 911 infrastructure. Larger schools. It’s all related.
That said, most professional athletes have residency in TX or FL. And the reason is simple - no tax! Which goes to my point about the very wealthy being helped the most.
Moved to Florida from PA for that very reason. I save 4.5% in state and local taxes and the property taxes are equal. The sales tax is one percent higher but at my income level I’m still ahead nearly $10K. Plus Pa getting snow this weekend and I’m in shorts!
One thing is certain - by hook or by crook the left is determined to separate you from your cash...
(My way of saying that living in a state with no state income tax does not preclude them from “liberally” fleecing us)
Every state collects revenue one way or another. Some more than others.
If it is an income tax, you generally only pay it when you are earning money.
Otherwise, as in Texas, it is a property tax that you pay whether you are working or not. You can sell but not quickly to reduce the tax but it still goes on whether you are earning money or not.
I’ve lived in both types of regimes. Property tax in lieu of income tax is manageable by choice but goes up unmercifully no matter your economic condition.
One thing I believe ALL states try to do is to hide their per-capita revenue or to benchmark against any other state. Their only answer to any problem is that they need more revenue no matter how corrupt, inefficient or wasteful they are.
This is the gods to honest truth.
I spent 2 months in Altamont Springs in florida. Got a job offer to go to Hicksville long Island at 20% more. I saved more money in those 2 months than the 2 years I spent in NY.
Others, however, are skeptical about ALEC’s findings. There is no compelling evidence that states without income taxes are outperforming states that have them or even have relatively high rates
Some states redirect their taxes. FL, for example, has a very high tax on hotel rooms where other states do not. I think that there are VERY compelling reasons to assert that taxes do have an impact on growth. To compare a state like Alaska to Ohio and make assertions about differences in growth rates ignores things like social overhead capital (e.g., roads, rail service, airports, etc.), population density (e.g., labor supply), and other exogenous factors. It's just plain stupid to say taxes don't distort resource allocation.
Screw the poor. Let them help themselves without any government hammock.
No income taxes, no inheritance taxes, no property taxes, no wealth taxes ... none of them ... these are all fundamentally unjust.
Government can just do less.
It doesn’t help the poor to have them stuck on the dole in a high cost of living state.
Far better they keep a little more of their own wages and stay independent, with an eye to moving up and accumulating assets.
Fair article? I’ll have to read all of it to have any possibility of concluding it is fair in any way.
It only considers income tax as a wealth redistribution mechanism when property tax can do the same thing but in even more cruel ways.
The whole premise the author suggests as a means to allow gooberment to shape society is revolting. It is worse than having a complete stranger to administer a legacy. Why did the idea of gooberment as a means for social change or administration enter anyone’s head in the first place? It is a warped sense of values. Perverse actually.
The only job gooberment has is to provide for the common needs of the people. Defense, transportation, border protection, standards, law enforcement. Even screwls are a debatable gooberment function.
Better.
It’s not the responsibility of the government to “helpthe poor”.
Heh,heh.
Retired military, live in Missouri, no income tax on mil ret pay. Low property tax, 7%ish sales tax, none if I shop on post. Prs property tax, not bad, vehicle registration, $ 35/yr average.
Great conservative state.
Tennessee: No income tax, highest sales tax in the nation.
The author states the rational, not the realilty, for the income tax helping the poor. High income tax states have high levels of poverty relative to their GDP and significantly higher cost of living than no income tax states. For example, you need anywhere from 40 - 60% higher income in New York or California to live the same lifestyle as in Texas or Florida.
They find other means to tax.
If you are Working, yes.
If you are Retired, no.
We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity.