Posted on 10/25/2009 3:58:21 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A study shows Tennessee's average 9.4 cent tax on every $1 spent is the highest sales tax rate in America. Opponents of the sales tax say it's most unfair to those least able to pay but others favor the sales tax over a state income tax.
The author of the tax comparison study, Tax Foundation staff economist Kail Padgitt, said an increasing number of states are raising so-called "millionaire taxes" on income of the wealthiest taxpayers and so-called "sin taxes" on cigarettes or beer. Padgitt told the Chattanooga Times Free Press the foundation is "definitely seeing more movement upward than downward in taxes on the state level, and the most popular seem to be to target particular types of tax groups."
The nonpartisan study group said the average 9.4 cents combined state and local sales taxes for every $1 spent by consumers in Tennessee is nearly 38 percent more than the median sales tax nationwide. By comparison, the combined state and local sales tax rate averages just over 7 percent in neighboring Georgia and 6.15 percent in Alabama. Although some localities in central Alabama have higher combined rates of up to 11 percent, Tennessee averaged the highest rate among all 50 states. The Tax Foundation said Tennessee derives nearly 57 percent of its tax revenue from sales taxes, third highest among the 50 states.
Critics of Tennessee's reliance upon consumer taxes say it is unfair to the poor and sends consumers to border states to shop. "Tennessee's sales tax is regressive tax so those that can least afford it have to pay the most," said Samantha Maples, a community organizer for Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, a pro-income tax group. "In addition to being unfair, the sales tax also hurts businesses along our borders and it is simply inadequate to fund our government." But Drew Johnson, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, said relying on sales taxes is better than using income taxes to fund government.
Tennessee is one of nine states that does not impose a tax on earned income, although the state does have a Hall income tax on dividend income. "Our sales tax in Tennessee doesn't need to be as high as it is and the government should look for ways to cut spending and waste," Johnson said. "But the sales tax is still the fairest and most responsible way to tax residents of the state. Tennessee is a haven for entrepreneurs because we don't have an income tax."
http://www.zip2tax.com/?s=google
“STATES WITH NO SALES TAX: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon.”
www.fairtax.org
Arguably a great alternative to the current nationwide income tax burden we face.
Yes we do. State tax only on certain dividends. I pay 9.75 in sales tax in my town.
That tax rate wouldn’t apply in Memphis, It is much higher here.
This is, I think, very interesting.
Many people assume that socialism/out of control government is just an East coast/West coast problem. The fact that a moderate state like Tennessee(McCain over Obama 57-42%) has the highest sales taxes shows that that is not the case.
Here in Indiana we pay 7% sales tax
3.4% flat rate income tax
and I pay approx $4000 prop tax on a $275,000 home.
Tenn sounds pretty good to me.
Tn is really a conservative state, and our tax responsibilities are really much lower than most other states. Even our Dem governor is pretty much a fiscal conservative,
YES BUT IN MOST AREAS THEY ARE VERY LOW, LIKE WELL UNDER 1 %.
The sales tax is the fairest tax, where every one shares the burden.
Tennessee does not have an income tax. Property taxes in Tennessee are set by the counties and cities but are moderate compared to much of the country.
If you were to look at the overall effective tax rate of all state taxes (income,property, and sales), I think Tennessee taxpayers fare relatively well compared to most other states.
Do people in Memphis do a lot of shopping over the border (since Memphis is in the southwest corner of the state?). Are there big shopping centers right over the border?
Tell me about it! Next time we visit Chattanooga (which is a great place to visit, incidentally) I'll be sure to take my lodging in Georgia and they can take their 17.25% and put it where the sun don't shine. I don't know what Georgia's tax is but it must be less than that.
Here in NH, we have neither a general sales nor an income tax and my property tax on a 3 br ranch and 7 acres was well under $2K. Of course that will probably change before long since the damn Democrats have been in charge for the last 3 years.
The good part about a sales tax is that everyone has to pay it - even those in the underground economy (illegals, black market, etc.)
I want to move there.
Yeah, the sales tax is too high, but I'm still way ahead of what I was paying up north among the yankees.
Oh, and if I had lived in Cuyahoga county in Ohio, my sales tax rate would have been 7.75%. On top of income tax at the state an local level and confiscatory property taxes.
Does TN have property taxes?
Yes. County property tax. The sales tax is my choice because even the drug dealers and ilegles pay it.
If it was my choice, I’d rather have a sales tax than a property tax. Property taxes are just evil.
This same PRESS RELEASE is reprinted by the Leftist media trying every single year in TN !
Does the Dem party media every SHUT UP !!!!!!
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