Tax cuts for wealthy won’t bring prosperity to PA
Originally published in Public Opinion, March 21, 2018 In the aftermath of the Trump-GOP tax cut enacted at the end of the last year, some legislators and advocates are calling for Pennsylvania to also cut tax rates for both individuals and corporations in the hopes of spurring economic growth and job creation. It is hard to think of a worse idea for our political community, not only because it is unfair, but because it has been tried and failed again and again. Pennsylvania has one of the most unequal tax systems in the country. Low-income Pennsylvanians pay 12% of their income in state and local taxes while middle-income Pennsylvanians pay 10%. But those with incomes in the top 5% pay only 6.8% of their income taxes while the top 1% pay only 4.2%. With a tax system this unfair, why should we emulate a federal tax cut that mostly reduces taxes for those at the top? It wouldn’t be because cutting taxes for the rich… Continue reading