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All taxes aren’t created equal. Some are progressive in nature while others are regressive.

A system has been created to measure taxes on this continuum. The “Suits Index” is a system that tells us which taxes are progressive and which are regressive and how much so.

Check out the taxes that are most regressive:

· Tobacco taxes;

· Minnesota’s “sick tax” to fund state health care;

· Utility taxes;

· Gasoline taxes;

· Estate taxes;

· Gambling taxes;

· General sales taxes;

· Corporate taxes (which in some fashion are passed to consumers).

Think about it. DFLers have participated in raising just about every one of these taxes in the recent past. And then they turn around and cry foul over a system that has become more regressive.

Now there are two way to fix this “problem,” if that’s what you think should be done from a public policy perspective.

You could adopt the DFL plan, which is to raise progressive taxes, meaning the income tax, and therefore bring more money into government.

The alternative is to cut regressive taxes, which is what House Speaker Kurt Zellers suggested in response to the media breathlessly demanding his reaction to the newsthat job creators and other successful people aren’t ponying up their “fair share.”

Are the wealthy paying up when it comes to taxes?

Take the income tax, for example.

When broken down by decile, you can see that the successful pay the majority of the income tax. And the less motivated amongst us?

The bottom 10% don’t pay ANY income taxes. In fact, they get back from the state over $17 million through refundable credits and other goodies.

The next 10% pay NO income taxes and receive $23 million in refunds.

The next 10% pay in, net, a little over $4 million, which is less than 1% of the total income tax collected.

The next 10% pay, net, about $80 million, about 1.1% of the total.

The next 10% pay, net, about $207 million, about 3% of the total.

The next 10% pay , net, about $357 million, about 5% of the total.

The next 10%, net, pay about $526 million, about 7.5% of the total.

The next 10%, net, pay about $788 million, about 11% of the total.

The next 10% pay, net, about $1.2 BILLION, about 17% of the total.

The next 10% pay, net, about $4 BILLION, about 56% of the total.

Put another way, the top 20% (those with household incomes above $90,000 per year) pay nearly three-quarters of the income tax while the bottom 20% pay nothing and even get something back.

Put another way, the top 5% of households (households income above $183,000) pay about 43% of the income tax.

Put yet another way, the top 1% (household incomes above $430,000 per year) payabout 25% of the income tax.

That is what the media won’t be telling you about Minnesota’s tax burden.

Are the successful paying their fair share? They most certainly are and then some.

If the DFL wants a more progressive system, maybe they ought to rethink all the regressive taxes they’ve embraced to satisfy other elements of their constituency.